Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Post Dinner Treat
Lunchpie is funny. Every night at dinner, when Hannah is done eating her food, she starts to chew/gnaw/suck on the kitchen table. If this was a "it happened once" kind of thing, it wouldn't be that funny. But it happens every night.
What to do when it's -15 outside...swimming, of course!
A couple weekends ago, we were in the middle of extremely and abnormally cold weather for Durango. It did not get above 0 during for the day. Too cold to go outside with the kids. We headed to the pool and happened to run into Ava (Emma's little BFF) and her family. Emma is now a pro at the tube slide and can do it by herself, but she always likes to go with Aaron because they go way faster!
Like Emma, Hannah is also a water baby and loves to play in the pool. She is usually pretty content with sitting in the float thing and watching her sister and all of the other kids.
Since Emma has mastered the tube slide, she decided that she wanted to try the diving board! The only tantrum of the day occured when she insisted on starting with the high dive and I refused (partially because I'm kinda scared of the high dive). Unfortunately, we have no action photos of the diving board experience, but Emma got a couple of jumps in before letting Aaron steal the show :)
 |
| Emma & Ava |
Like Emma, Hannah is also a water baby and loves to play in the pool. She is usually pretty content with sitting in the float thing and watching her sister and all of the other kids.
Since Emma has mastered the tube slide, she decided that she wanted to try the diving board! The only tantrum of the day occured when she insisted on starting with the high dive and I refused (partially because I'm kinda scared of the high dive). Unfortunately, we have no action photos of the diving board experience, but Emma got a couple of jumps in before letting Aaron steal the show :)
Lunchpie Huck's Birthday
I guess I am a bad mom. I came home from work on December 28th to find out that it was Lunchpie Huck's birthday. Lunchpie Huck is one of Emma's dolls. She's the quiet type. Emma and Aaron made a cake in the Easy Bake oven. We sang Happy Birthday. Lunchpie Huck opened birthday presents (re-wrapped Christmas presents). There is some confusion though if it was her 4 month birthday or 18 month birthday. So once we clarify that - we'll let you know the correct date to put on your calendar.
Happy Birthday Lunchpie Huck!
Happy Birthday Lunchpie Huck!
Christmas Morning continued
Aaron and I received the best gift we could have received from the girls....BOTH of the girls slept until 8:00 am on Christmas morning. Neither one of us could believe it. In fact, we both woke up before the girls...we looked at each other and wondered what was going on. The quiet in the house quickly changed as Emma wandered into our room and told us, "I am supposed to jump on your bed to wake you up!"
It would be an understatement to say that there were a few gifts to open. Emma enjoyed every minute of it and Hannah enjoyed chewing on all of the wrapping paper. We had a great day as a family and that was the best part.
It would be an understatement to say that there were a few gifts to open. Emma enjoyed every minute of it and Hannah enjoyed chewing on all of the wrapping paper. We had a great day as a family and that was the best part.
 |
| The Hyder girls |
 |
| Sisters on Christmas morning |
 |
| Hannah opening presents |
 |
| Hannah eating her presents |
 |
| Emma helping Jackson with his present |
 |
| Off to church |
 |
| Tearing it up! |
Christmas Eve
Unfortunately, I had to work on Christmas Eve and didn't get home until 6. But Aaron and the girls prepared a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner of steak and artichokes for us to enjoy. It was wonderful! We even had luck skyping in to the Christmas party at Granny's house so we could pretend like we were there!
Amazingly, it was super easy to get Emma ready for bed and go to bed, because she knew the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner Santa would stop by the house. Before going to bed she left out some carrots for the reindeer on the front porch (I didn't want the reindeer to come into the house to get the carrots) and some treats for Santa.
The tree was ready for the morning for the girls !
Amazingly, it was super easy to get Emma ready for bed and go to bed, because she knew the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner Santa would stop by the house. Before going to bed she left out some carrots for the reindeer on the front porch (I didn't want the reindeer to come into the house to get the carrots) and some treats for Santa.
The tree was ready for the morning for the girls !
We have some video action of Emma preparing her treats for Santa and I will add that to this post as soon as I download it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
More Skiing Action
Last week, Emma and I were skiing together while I was at work. Emma does pretty well and can stop and kinda turn when we tell her, but she still wears a harness with a leash tethered to me while skiing. We were cruising along until Emma boldly told me that she was going to go off of the jump. After she made her turn and was headed for the jump, I immediately pulled on her harness to knock her down....and then had to pull her back up hill via the harness. Anyways, our bold, daring child was slightly irritated that there would be no "going off jumps" that day.
Here's a couple more skiing videos (although not as exciting as "going off jumps" :
Here's a couple more skiing videos (although not as exciting as "going off jumps" :
Friday, January 7, 2011
Skiing
Last year, Emma was more excited to get dressed to go skiing...than to actually go skiing. And that was okay. She was 2. This year, though, she has been talking about going skiing since August and as soon as the snow start flying, she's been asking to go skiing. So we've been going. The lucky little kid has been able to go twice a week since the season has started! She has progressed enough that the Sunday after Christmas her and Aaron took 2 runs off the six-pack and it didn't even take all afternoon!
Interview on the lift ride:
Needless to say, Emma loves to go and ski. Last week, when it was dumping, Aaron dropped the girls off at school while wearing his ski pants. Emma wanted to know why he was wearing his ski pants. Aaron lied and said he was going to shovel, because he knew if he told her that he was going skiing without her, there was going to be a tantrum. Emma starts Snowburners on Thursday!
Interview on the lift ride:
Needless to say, Emma loves to go and ski. Last week, when it was dumping, Aaron dropped the girls off at school while wearing his ski pants. Emma wanted to know why he was wearing his ski pants. Aaron lied and said he was going to shovel, because he knew if he told her that he was going skiing without her, there was going to be a tantrum. Emma starts Snowburners on Thursday!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Polar Express
The Polar Express is a children's train ride on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad that mimics the story. We surprised Emma with a ride on the Polar Express (we might have surprised Hannah, too but she didn't say much) and headed out to to train station one Sunday night. All of the kids get to wear their pajamas and Emma was so excited she could barely contain herself. It was worth every penny of the overpriced ride that took us approximately 36 blocks. And back.
We arrived a little bit early and waited in the train station with about a million other overly-excited, pajama clad kids. Luckily, the kids were troopers and were well behaved. And so was Aaron!
Right before the trip starts, the elves move all of the train riders outside next to the track. The little boy from the story (whose name escapes me right now) and the conductor did a live deal where the conductor asks him to get on the train...and then asks all of the kids if they are ready for the train...obviously, anticipation is at an all time high at this point. With the story music playing over the intercom system, all of the sudden the train arrives to the station. Kids are going wild. I got goosebumps. Emma was so jazzed and we hadn't gotten on the train!
We boarded the train, got our seats and we were off to the North Pole. The cooks read the story as we traveled north and drank hot chocolate.
Once we arrived to the North Pole, Santa boarded the train, walked through each car and handed each child a bell....the first gift of Christmas. And as long as you believe, you can hear the bell ring. I must be a huge believer because I can't miss the bell still ringing in the diaper bag.
On the way back from the North Pole, we got to sing Christmas carols as we were waiting for Santa to visit with us. We were the last car, so it was kinda a wait. But when he showed up in our car - Emma had a blast!
When the train arrived at the train station, we went into the train museum and Emma wanted to talk to Santa and tell him what she wanted. In years past, Emma has said that she wanted to talk to Santa, but when it was her turn, there was no talking to Santa. This year, though, was completely different. In fact, they almost had to kick her & Hannah off of his lap. Emma talked so much, I don't think Hannah got a single word in! After they talked to Santa, we asked Emma what she told Santa that she wanted. She responded, "That's between him and me!"
We might not ride the Polar Express every year, but we'll probably do it again. Not only did the girls enjoy it, but I think Aaron and I enjoyed watching Emma having so much fun even more.
We arrived a little bit early and waited in the train station with about a million other overly-excited, pajama clad kids. Luckily, the kids were troopers and were well behaved. And so was Aaron!
 |
| The anticipation! |
 |
| The Polar Express arriving into the station |
On the way back from the North Pole, we got to sing Christmas carols as we were waiting for Santa to visit with us. We were the last car, so it was kinda a wait. But when he showed up in our car - Emma had a blast!
 |
| Here he comes! |
 |
| Emma & Hannah receive their bell from Santa |
 |
| Talking to the big man himself |
Christmas Tree Decoratin'
After the big hunt, we made our down to town to have lunch at Zia's and then home for naps. You need a lot of energy to decorate the tree. Once Emma woke up from her nap, we got all of the decorations out and decorated the tree. I love this part!
 |
| Emma loved picking where to place her ornaments |
 |
| Emma & Colleen working hard |
 |
| Supervising |
Christmas Tree Huntin'
Obviously, I am considerably behind on our blogging....but I have no better excuse than we've been busy! So here we go. One of my good friends, Colleen, came to town the first weekend of December. It was wonderful to have her in town. The last time she was here was for our graduation from FLC and this time she came pregnant. Congratulations to Jeff and Colleen! Anyways, we didn't really have a huge weekend as I still had to work a little bit and Aaron was in school. However, we thought it would be fun to take her with us to find our Christmas tree...and she had never gone huntin' before.
We headed up to our top secret location and I am pretty sure it is the fastest we have ever found a tree. I mean, the whole process definitely wasn't the fastest because when you add a 3 year old that sasses everyone around and decides to stop hiking...and when you leave her where she stops...and then she starts screaming "My mommy left me"....and then I felt obligated to go back and get her ...you get the idea - it takes a little longer. Plus, Hannah wants to eat every once in awhile.
Anyways, Colleen, Emma and I were in charge of hiking through the snow and finding a tree while Aaron and Hannah hung out in the car for awhile. We found a couple of different ones for Aaron to choose and he chose the one that was down a steep hill, far, far away. So while Colleen stayed at the top of the hill with the girls, Aaron and I hiked down and cut down the tree. Aaron even let me carry the tree all the way to the top! Wasn't that nice of him? He is always sharing like that :) Needless to say, there are no action shots of the tree-cutting. We had a great day and were lucky that the weather was cooperative and we're glad that we were able to share our tradition with Colleen. Thanks for visiting Colleen!
We headed up to our top secret location and I am pretty sure it is the fastest we have ever found a tree. I mean, the whole process definitely wasn't the fastest because when you add a 3 year old that sasses everyone around and decides to stop hiking...and when you leave her where she stops...and then she starts screaming "My mommy left me"....and then I felt obligated to go back and get her ...you get the idea - it takes a little longer. Plus, Hannah wants to eat every once in awhile.
Anyways, Colleen, Emma and I were in charge of hiking through the snow and finding a tree while Aaron and Hannah hung out in the car for awhile. We found a couple of different ones for Aaron to choose and he chose the one that was down a steep hill, far, far away. So while Colleen stayed at the top of the hill with the girls, Aaron and I hiked down and cut down the tree. Aaron even let me carry the tree all the way to the top! Wasn't that nice of him? He is always sharing like that :) Needless to say, there are no action shots of the tree-cutting. We had a great day and were lucky that the weather was cooperative and we're glad that we were able to share our tradition with Colleen. Thanks for visiting Colleen!
 |
| Two important items: The baby and the saw |
 |
 |
| Colleen & Hannah |
 |
| Sassy and getting ready to hunt |
 |
| Erin & Colleen |
 |
| Aaron & Erin |
 |
| Baby Lunchpie helping in the action |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)