Another Photo Shoot....

Emma has been the one that has been hogging all of the media attention....but the whole family was asked to be in a photo shoot to promote the sleigh rides up here at the mountain. We said yes so that Emma could ride in the sleigh and see the horses! Anyways, here's some of the cute pictures and look for us on a billboard near you soon.

First Turns....kinda!

This Weeks TOP TEN!!

10. It looks like its time to get the shovels out of the attic. Wish we had a snowblower up there.

9. Yesterday, Emma told me "The baby is getter bigger in your belly....and your boobs are going to get big." I feel like my husband is feeding her this.

9. Emma totally calls you out when you don't excuse yourself after you fart. If you don't say anything, she'll say, "what do you say?"

8. Decorating Christmas cookies with a 2 year old. Sorry to anyone that gets the one with the whole jar of sprinkles on top.

7. Aaron and Jackson braved the elements and brought home a Christmas tree!

6. With the recent snow and upcoming storms, the whole mountain will open within 5 days...I can't remember the last time that happened. Time for some turns tomorrow.

5. This morning, I was reprimanded by Emma for making too much noise in the kitchen while her doll was sleeping.....

4. Emma got a real letter from Santa that was even postmarked from the North Pole.

3. Emma has figured how to trick Jackson to come near the couch so that she can stand on the couch to get on his back. The poor dog.

2. Christmas music on the radio. I am right there with you, Allison.

1. Emma tells us EVERYDAY that Santa is coming with his reindeers.

The Snow Has Arrived

The snow has finally arrived...in feet. Since Monday morning, we have gotten over 2 feet of snow at our house. And up at the mountain, we got 4 feet and we'll be able to open the entire mountain on Friday..which is exciting! It has finally stopped snowing which is giving us (Aaron really) a nice break. More snow is in the forecast for later on this week.

This Week's TOP TEN!!

10. Emma slept all the way until 8:00 AM on Sunday morning - even I got up before she did.

9. Aaron still has fishing clients and he took some locals this past week.

8. Christmas Shopping is complete.

7. The other night, the neighbor's dog started barking at 1:00 am. At 1:45 AM, Aaron walked over, rang their doorbell and asked if they heard their dog barking? Needless to say, the barking finally stopped. Thanks Aaron!

6. The return of college basketball season.

5. Our cow has arrived.

4. Aaron is almost done with the semester - only 3 more to go.

3. Thanksgiving leftovers.

2. We're getting closer to Emma's "haircut at Granny's" - I swear, she's been talking about it for over a month!

1. Already got out for the first runs of the season. Now bring on more snow!

ClubMed....

I had a first this week - my first hospital stay (other than when Emma was born). And I'd have to say the accomodations were pretty nice! On Sunday, Aaron was fishing on the San Juan and Emma and I were having a girls day. But around 1:00 or so, I started having severe pain in my right flank....So unfortunately, after going into the ER around 8:30 (after already going to Urgent Care earlier), I was admitted to the hospital for KIDNEY STONES! And they hurt like a SOB! I passed the stones and was released on Tuesday morning. It was nice to go home and sleep in my own bed. The hardest part about the whole thing was that kids under 18 are not currently allowed into the hospital, unless they are being treated. So while I was the ER, Emma had to stay in the waiting room with Aaron. The good thing was that my friend Morgan was my ER nurse so it made it a little bit easier. And while I was staying in the hospital, we had to meet in the cafeteria so that I could see Emma. She seemed a little bit concerned about the juice box that was connected to my forearm :)

You may be wondering why I would be hospitalized for 2 days or so just for kidney stones....but it is was a little bit more complicated due to another condition I currently have.....I am just about 11 weeks pregnant with a playmate for Dink! So they were concerned about my over-dehydration, my inability to keep anything down and wanted to monitor the fetus. Plus, they were pumping me full of narcotics (which I am sure they got sick of me asking if it was safe). The funny thing about all of this is that my first pre-natal appointment was on Wednesday...so we actually got to see the baby a little bit early - and we are so grateful that there is only 1!

Things to love about small, mountain town living...

.....wearing dress-up shoes means a fairly fresh pedicure and your "nice" chacos.

.....no one does a double-take when you're sitting in the front window of El Rancho with your 2 year old in the middle of the afternoon.

....my kid will be a better skier than you by the time she's 5.

....you wonder about those people who haven't heard about those foreign cars called "Subaru"s.

Being Silly

Halloween....Paging Dr. Hyder

Pumpkin Carving

This Week's TOP TEN!!

10. Aaron's brother, Matt, visited us for the weekend. Thanks for coming, Matt!

9. Aaron was able to fish the Ute water twice and the San Juan all in the last week.

8. The warm November weather is nice...except we are supposed to open in 22 days.

7. I hate the Yankees.

6. Every morning Emma gets up, walks into our room and says, "Mama - I sleep good."

5. We got tickets to see Ron White in a couple of weeks.

4. Apparently, Emma wants a pink cake for her birthday. Yesterday, all she told Aaron all day was "I want pink cake my birthday". At least we have some time.

3. We had our family pictures taken earlier this fall and they are available to view online on Friday. If you want to check them out, visit www.carolcardwellphotography.com/hyder.

2. We spent all day Sunday at the Aaland's watching football, lounging and eating pheasant tamales!

1. Trick or Treating with Dink - Every time she walked back from the house towards Aaron and I, she would said, "They gave me more!!"

Halloween Parade...or not

Today was Emma's Halloween parade at school...Unfortunately, Emma and her little BFF, Ava, took each other out at the beginning of the parade and didn't get to walk with the other kids. Emma ended up with a goose egg on her forehead - but no pictures. Hopefully, tomorrow goes a little bit better!!

Here's a picture that I have from this morning before leaving for the parade:

TOP TEN!! ...Beware ....some are disgusting!

10. Today is the anniversary of the train-bus accident that happened at my high school in 1995. It was amazing to see how many other people remembered it on Facebook, etc and how we can all remember the day so vividly. Here's to the SEVEN.

9. The return of Allison Swan to the HR world. Yeah for the unexpected!

8. This morning, Emma told me she needed a tampon for her "gina".....Aaron ran out of the room.

7. Aaron finished up his 2009 guiding season this weekend. Although, he has trips booked in November & December - the season is pretty much over and it was a sucessful year. Congrats to Aaron!!

6. We hosted an awesome Fall Staff Party at Seasons and it was absolutely wonderful!

5. We get a poster from each Telluride Bluegrass Festival that we attend - and we finally got them framed and hung in the house. It only took 7 years!

4. Emma has a very keen sense of smell. In fact, Emma's teacher at school told Aaron that Emma calls out a stinky fart at school before anyone else can smell it.

3. Our books are over-runneth the house...so Aaron built us a beautiful bookshelf that runs the length of our office. Now I can see the floor again!

2. Last weekend, Emma insisted on pushing her cabbage patch kid in a stroller to, at and from the Farmer's Market.

1. I caught Emma eating popcorn off the ground in the City Market parking lot!

Emma's New Sleeve

For Birdwell:

Girls' Weekend

This weekend, Aaron was busy on the river, so Emma and I had a girls' weekend. Although, we did nothing exciting or out of the ordinary, we took full advantage of the beautiful weather that we have been waiting for around here. On Saturday, we stopped by the Farmers Market, took Jackson to the Doctor (Emma asked me if he was scared?), hiked at the dog park and then went to the FLC volleyball game. We even made a random trip to Farmington to hit up Target. On Sunday, we ran with Jackson and then watched the FLC women's soccer team play. Even though we missed hanging out with Aaron, we both enjoyed doing things at a "girls" pace!

TOP TEN!!

10. We already picked our Halloween pumpkins and have Emma's Halloween costume. We feel like we are well ahead of the game!

9. Aaron speed read "Horton Hatches the Egg" in less than 10 minutes to Emma for bedtime.

8. I love when I travel to "big" cities and I can eat at places like Panera. I ate there twice in 1 day.

7. Aaron's client on Tuesday was drunk enough that he fell, broke Aaron's cooler, and almost fell out of the boat.

7. Emma likes to help Aaron with his "arts and crafts"...so she "organized" all of his fly tying material...I mean....I thought it was kinda funny!

6. Emma got her first big kid bed.

5. Emma got her first big kid bike, a 12" Trek pink Mystic.

4. We have set the date for "Hyderpalooza:Aaron & Erin Turn 30!"...So save the date you out-of-towners...February 19-21.

3. The other day, Emma said, "Mama, I have a penis". Then, later that day she said, "My vagina hurts"...and so I appropriately responded, "Well, obviously, it is because you are growing a penis." End of conversation.

2. Our friend, Kendra, complete her first marathon this weekend in Chicago. Way to go Team 4:20!

1. Our friends, Colleen & Jeff, got married this weekend in Dayton, OH and I was a proud participant. Congratulations Colleen & Jeff!!

Colleen & Jeff's Wedding

I was lucky enough to be a part of my great friend Colleen's wedding this weekend. I flew out to Dayton, OH on Wednesday night to spend some time with Coll before the real chaos erupted later on in the week. The wedding was absolutely beautiful held at the University of Dayton chapel and the reception was held at the Aviation Museum, which was really cool.
Colleen and Jeff put soooo much effort and thought in all of the details for the whole weekend, which made it so special. Thank you Colleen and Jeff for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

The Newlyweds!

The Pratt Family, Jen & me


Jeff & Colleen

Punkin' Pickin'

Last Sunday, the day after the big bike purchase, Aaron and I had planned a Farmington, NM errand day. The main purpose of the trip was to get Emma a twin bed and we successfully left NM with something tied to the roof of the Subaru! Emma was very excited to pick the mattresses out and she has been talking about her new big kid bed every day since...We're waiting on a frame and headboard for a little bit, but it works out nice that the mattresses are a little closer to the ground.

Then....the big weekend continued....at Sutherland Farms between Farmington and Durango. This is the second year that we have picked our Halloween pumpkins at this farm....Emma likes to play in the their corn pit, see the animals in the petting zoo and ride the tractor/hay ride! There was even a donkey, which Emma was extra excited about since she has Shrek memorized and got to see the real deal. Emma used an interesting tactic for her selection - she would pick a pumpkin up and then drop it.....I thought we were going to leave with 15 cracked pumpkins.

By the end of the day, we left with 3 nice sized pumpkins that are patiently waiting on our front porch to be carved. Hopefully, we can do that by Halloween!

Emma's New Bike

Last weekend, Emma and I headed over to Cortez. The plan was to get Emma a bike helmet at a bike store in Cortez with a gift card we had there and then go and hike in the Canyon of the Ancient. As we walked into the bike store, the first bike that you could see was an Emma-sized trek....and we left with it, too. I think I need to say we're not the kind of people that just buy what the kid wants, but we had been talking about when to get her the first "real" bike....and it all kinda just worked out! Anyways, Emma left with a 12" frame Trek with training wheels AND the purple helmet we came for.

It was hard to convince Emma to put the bike in the car and head over to hike in Sand Canyon, but we made it over there and hiked around for a little while. After we headed home and hit up some nap time, we went to the river trail where Emma rode her bike ALL by herself....We're still working on "look when you are pedaling" concept!

Sure is pretty....

Office View

My office at work was relocated over the past couple of weeks and the view's not bad:

This Week's TOP TEN

10. Now that the house is off the market, we're unpacking (again), going through all of our crap and getting ready for a garage sale. Come buy some crap in a couple of weeks.

9. Aaron and I are currently abstaining for alcohol during the week. My body actually feels better.

8. Aaron had 3 trips this week and the booyeah was a hit. October is shaping up nicely, too.

7. The St. Louis Cardinals suck.

6. Emma didn't want to go to school on Friday....all the way to school it was - "Nooo.....I want soccer....and Owen and Mia." She didn't want to wait for the FLC women's soccer game that afternoon.

5. It finally got warm again - it was 86 today -after it was 19 on Tuesday morning at work. Fall is Aaron and mine's favorite time of year.

3. I like when Emma and I are dancing in living room and I know that the neighbors can probably only see me through the windows.

2. Emma refers to "Big Bird" as "Big Duck".

1. Emma is the only 2 year-old that I know that watches and has memorized "Spaceballs". After dinner tonight, she started shouting "I want Barf!!!!!" Barf is a "mog" - 1/2 man, 1/2 dog - he's his own best friend.

Montana Pictures...Finally!

Sorry to be such a slacker, but here are a handful of pictures from our Montana trip:

Hyder Girls Roadtrippin'

Hyat & Emma

Visiting Dawn & Conrad in Kalispell

Visiting Mindy & Shane in Missoula

Aaron & Erin - Jefferson River

Aaron & Buck - Jefferson River

Erin & Jeni

Hyders and Reeces

This Week's TOP TEN

10. Aaron detailed all 3 cars yesterday. Who doesn't love a clean car?

9. Emma "reads" a magazine while she poops. She prefers Fly Fisherman or Southwest Fly Fishing.

8. Aaron and I played golf at the Glacier Club on Saturday while Emma hung out with Heidi.

7. Our 3rd hole play was suspended when a coyote wandered across the fairway and then took its time hunting, watching us and walking down the fairway.

6. Rec Soccer season has returned - and today I can barely walk.

5. Fall is officially here and the fall colors have arrived. Hopefully, we can make it through family photos tomorrow.

4. Aaron had a great trip on Friday and has 3 trips this week.

3. Yesterday, Emma was talking outloud to no one in particular and she said "Mama has 2 big boobs." Well, thank you!

2. The Bears beat the Steelers and the Cubs beat the Cardinals.

1. We camped on Saturday - in the backyard - complete with roasting hotdogs, smores, peeing in the grass and plenty of beer (that's how we ended up in the backyard instead of our originally planned location....parents of the year).

Lee's Ferry

This past weekend, Aaron and I celebrated a "toddler free" weekend. We headed over to Lee's Ferry on Friday night to do some fishing. Lee's Ferry is on the Colorado River right below the Glen Canyon Dam. It is located about 30 miles south of Page, AZ and is the put-in to raft the Grand Canyon. Anyways, Saturday morning we picked up our boat and headed to the put-in. (Let me also mention that this is the only river I have floated with the same take-out as put-in). We headed up river and eventually made it all the way to the dam. It is hard to explain the scenary of our day - but it is easily the most majestic place I have even been. Sorry, Kansas! And after spending only a day on that section of the river made us want a Grand permit even more. I can only imagine what it is like within the canyon.

The fishing was great. Aaron hooked us up with his secret weapon #1 and secret weapon #2. We definitely kept the guide boats away because we hooked so many fish. In one spot, Aaron and I took turns each casting 5 casts and each turn, we both landed at least 3 fish. I think we stayed there for at least 4 rounds of taking turns. It almost seemed illegal and the last time I said that about fishing was on the Geishik River in Alaska. We even finished early for the day.

Aaron even had the opportunity to meet Wendy Gunn, who owns the guide service and lodge we stayed at. Wendy is a legendary fly-fishing woman and I think I caught Aaron drooling while he was talking to her!

Here's some great pics:

This Week's TOP TEN

10. I have a unique talent of being able to flip both of my eyelids inside out. I busted it out for the first time to Emma & Aaron while we were in Montana and Emma completely freaked out. And I mean completely - like saw a scary monster. Now Aaron tells Emma "to do Mama's eyes" and Emma rolls them and looks straight up. But she still freaks out hysterically if I were to do it.


9. We witnessed Emma pull up her shirt and nurse her baby doll. Then she told Aaron to get her a blanket to cover the baby 'cause it was eatin'.


8. The world of cable televison has returned to the Hyder house.


7. Aaron has always told Emma to pull his finger to hear a fart. Now Emma does it.


6. The bikers have come to town, spent their money and have finally left.


5. Aaron and Emma were at the pool last week and Aaron watched a grown woman pick her boogers and EAT THEM!! Then, he got yelled at by the granny lifeguard for letting Emma go down the slide head first. Good day at the pool!


4. Our tomatoes are soooo close to turning red...


3. A wonderful Sunday spent at Trimble in the hot pool followed by naps.


2. We finally made contact with Birdwell - it's hard to keep up with our friends and family that work nights.


1. Emma reeled in and landed her very first trout!! As you can imagine, in our family, this is an important milestone and was celebrated with luke-warm PBR.

Back to the Grind

At one point, we knew it was going to happen - back to the daily routines of life after a long-needed vacation. Aaron started classes at FLC last Monday for the semester. This semester he only has classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which is great that he will be able to work a little bit more than last year. I also appreciate him back in school - it means we actually see him in the daylight and Aaron helps take over daycare drop-off and pick-up duty - which means a little bit more time for myself. Not to sound selfish.

I have been extremely busy at work since I have returned, which may surprise some of you as you're thinking "Isn't it a ski resort?" Yes...and contrary to popular I'm not just busy during the ski season...and actually my busy time of year is now until April. At work we call it "Septober" because the 2 months pretty much fly by as we are getting prepared to open for the season. But being busy for me is good - it keeps me out of trouble, keeps me focused on my to-do list, and I tend to drink less beer (until it gets really busy - then I drink more beer!). My office is being relocated next week, so next week will be full of moving heavy boxes.

Speaking of next week, Aaron and I are headed to Lee's Ferry to fish on the Colorado River for the weekend. We are extremely lucky that Aaron's mom, Beth, will be visiting for about a week which allows us a toddler-free weekend. Hopefully, we will have some good fish stories to report when we return.

Sorry I haven't posted any pictures of our Montana trip yet, but our computer seems to think that we're missing the photo program all of the sudden. I am hoping to take the CPU into work to see if the guys can fix it. But once I am able, I will post some pictures.

Other than that, nothing is too extraordinary. This is our 2nd weekend all summer that we have been able to spend as a family -- and everyone is currently napping (well - obviously, not me). But we are planning to head over to Mancos this afternoon to do some spin-fishing with Emma which is guaranteed to be entertaining.

This Week's TOP TEN

10. Shopping sales-tax free!


9. Emma constantly calling Embrie her "my baby brudder".


8. Visiting and reconnecting with Dawn and Conrad in Kalispell and relaxing at their beautiful house they built.


7. Traveling to Missoula - visiting old friends at RMO and Mindy & Shane.


6. Floating the Jefferson river with cold beer and good friends.


5. All you can eat roast beef night.


4. Dan Stangby's macaroni salad.


3. Fitting 3 car seats into the back seat of a subaru. Then, listening to Emma and Hyat fight over whether the shade of Embrie's seat was up or down every time we got into the car.


2. Meeting the newest Reece addition, Embrie Jean and watching Hyat be a great big brother.


1. Spending an awesome vacation with our best friends wishing we were closer by. Even if it meant I had to fight Buck for Aaron's attention.

Short Update

We are still in Montana. This has been one of my best vacations because we haven't tried to cram a whole lot in a short amount of time. Emma and I drove back from Kalispell on Tuesday afternoon after spending time with our friends Dawn and Conrad. And then Aaron arrived in town on Wednesday. As you can imagine, Emma was super excited to see her daddy! But she wanted to know where he put the dog as she was expecting the dog, too. Yesterday, we were lucky enough for BJ and Dan to watch Emma and Hyat for the afternoon and night, so Aaron, Buck, Jeni, Embrie and I headed over to Twin Bridges, MT to fish the Jefferson River. It was a beautiful afternoon and although the fishing was not catching, it was a great day on the river. When we return next week, I will make sure to post more details about our entire trip with some pics.

Bloggin from the road

Emma and I have made it to Montana. We arrived in Bozeman late Thursday night...so late that I forgot Emma's brown blanket on top of the car at the airport...and it is still probably blowing across the Big Sky state. However, 3 days later, I think the brown blanket is a thing of the past and we can move on to a new blanket. Anyways, we were able to hang out with Jeni, Hyat, Embrie and Buck for two days and I'm convinced that a house with plural children is both a blessing and a complete circus/zoo...and as long as my child is one of the children, the circus/zoo is guaranteed. Emma and Hyat play together like typical toddlers - one minute loving each other, the next with tears. And it is great to meet Embrie - she hit the 4 week mark this weekend.

This morning Emma and I started our west-Montana road trip. I have learned that Emma won't pee in truck-stop bathrooms but will pee in state park pit-toilets. We are currently in Missoula visiting old stomping grounds and our friends Mindy and Shane. Mindy and Shane just moved to town about a month ago, so we showed them some secret (or not so secret) places and hiked one of my favorite easy hikes up the waterworks trail. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Kalispell. Emma has been a trooper and really enjoys seeing and doing new things, including seeing modern freight trains...instead of ones made in the last century..or the one before that!

But what is it with my friends that don't drink coffee? How do you do it?

Off to Montana

I apologize for the lack of posts lately..not that anything hasn't been going on. Aaron has been incredibly busy with finishing up the season before classes start again and believe it or not, the busy season has started for me, too. But Emma and I are leaving for Montana tonight to spend a week visiting friends in Bozeman, Missoula and Kalispell. Aaron will join us next Wednesday. Emma's topic of conversation for the last couple of days is about flying in a plane in the sky, she I think she is ready to go, too! I will be sure to add posts after our return.

This Week's TOP TEN

10. Napping.

9. Spending a night fishing and camping with Aaron on the San Juan.

8. This conversation with Emma:
Emma: "Mama, go run?" (swinging her arms back and forth)
Erin : " No, Emma, I'm kinda tired. We'll run tomorrow."
Emma: " No Mama! Run!" (this came with the you-really-need-to-run look)

7. Jackson has finally been somewhat useful warding off the continuous skunk invasion.

6. We are still grateful for men's need to fish. Aaron is currently on a 10-day straight binge. July was a great month and August is shaping well, too. I don't know if he's as happy about as I am :)

5. Green chile season is beginning!

4. The return of cool nights.

3. Emma's new fascination with swim goggles.

2. Looking forward to our trip to Montana next week.

1. I asked Emma what Daddy does at work. She responded: "gaper fishing?"

The Fisherman's Wife

There's occupational hazards....and then there's "spouse" hazards. Spouse hazards are the things you have to put up with your spouse's job, etc. It just comes with the territory. And you know what comes with being the wife of a fishing guide - FISH STORIES. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this exact exchange at dinner after one of Aaron's trips:

Erin: How was the day?

Aaron: OK. They lost sooo many fish. It was red hot fishing and what a bunch of gangling going on. If you would have been out there with, you would have slayed it.

Or the conversation goes like this:

Erin: How was the day?

Aaron: It was epic. My guys landed sooooo many 22 inch fish and we had to stop fishing because they were soooo tired. You and I should go down there soon.

So...when we get the chance, we go out and fish on the San Juan. But it's funny - because the red hot fishing ALWAYS turns off when I'm on the water. And then we have this exchange because we have plenty of time to talk..because there's no fish action:

Erin: I thought it was red hot fishing.....yesterday.

Aaron: It was. I don't know what happened.

But my luck finally turned around this weekend. Aaron is on the river for about 10 days in a row, so Emma and I met Aaron on Friday night to fish and to camp with him. We put the boat in and I immediately saw a fish actively rising on the bank. Aaron said we probably wouldn't have much luck fishing dry flies because the water just went up. But I really want to try for the riser. I threw 1 cast with a teeny, tiny dry fly and hooked him. The fish put up a good fight, jumped 3 or 4 times and it took me (Emma helped, too) about 10 minutes to boat the fish. I guess listening to all of those fish stories paid off!

Nice, fat 22" rainbow

Emma gangling (you should have seen the reel!)

Sunset family pic

Protective Eyewear

Maybe she's on to something?

A Day at the Farm - I mean...Fair

This morning, Emma and I went down to the County Fair with our Carozza friends. We wanted to check out all of farm animals that were being shown. As we were walking to the fairgrounds, I was thinking how funny it is that I have to take Emma somewhere to go see farm animals and how much the culture of our country and society has changed in a relatively small period of time. I mean, not 100 years ago or less, farming and ranching was the way of life for most Americans...but now there are more of us with less farms and ranches...where our food should come from. Today, Emma saw those animals as pets or entertainment...but awhile ago - I don't think she would have been as eager to go see the goats because she would have seen them as a chore! Anyways, regardless - it was a great morning spent with friends (Carozzas and animals included).