Fun with Dirt!

On Saturday Brady and all the guys were haulin' in dirt to try to level out the backyard. Stockton wanted to be right in the middle of it all.

So he got his trusty shovel and got to work!


He had a blast playing in the dirt!


He was covered in it and loved every second of it. Then he decided that his little shovel kinda looked like a spoon, so started spooning it into his mouth. He threw a fit when I put a stop to the dirt-eating.




After a long day of diggin' in the dirt, it was finally time to head inside for a bath. But, he would not let go of the shovel!


So the shovel got a bath, too!

We adore our little dirt-lovin' boy!

Zion

For our 3rd Anniversary, Brady and I ran away to Zion National Park for a quick get-away. We left Stockton with grandparents just over night. It was hard to leave him for the first time, but it was a much needed break.

We set out on Friday morning and it was an icy, snowy mess at home. We were really worried about the weather. But, luckily it was GORGEOUS at Zions.

The first day we went a fun hike.


We hiked up to three sets of pools, called Emerald Pools. This is the upper pool where a really tall water fall comes off the top of the high cliffs.


The water comes down a little further and falls off more cliffs.


Some of the rock formations were really cool!


The view of the canyon from Weeping Rock. (The water seeps through the sandstone and comes out here as a spring, if you look close you can see the water falling out of the rock behind Brady.)


The second day we hiked up the Angel's Landing trail. You gain altitude so quickly, and there are some breathtaking views.


This is on top of Scouts Lookout. It's only about a 1000 foot drop behind us. We decided to play it safe and not go on to Angel's Landing...


Because the rest of the trail is up over that ridge, with about a 900 foot drop on one side and a 1200 foot drop on the other, and the trail gets down to 3 feet wide in some areas, and only a chain to hold on to. I did the hike once. I'll never do it again, especially now that I'm a mom. Then I came home and found out that just a few days before a lady fell from Scouts Lookout, right where we were standing in the picture before. YIKES!


Scouts Lookout is in the "bowl" right below those white cliffs. Angel's Landing is the big cliff to the left. So you can see how high up we were.


This is the water fall at the Temple of Sinawava. The wind would blow and it would just turn into mist. It was so cool lookin!

It was the perfect little trip. So gorgeous and the weather was perfect. If you haven't been I highly recommend it!

Stockton's 1st Year

Stockton's 1st Year from Rachel Haider on Vimeo.

A little video Brady and I made to remember Stockton's 1st Year. I can't believe how quickly it has gone by! These are such precious moments that we will treasure forever.

Happy Birthday Stockton

Stockton's turned one a couple of weeks ago, and boy did we party!

Stockton loves trucks, so we went with a construction truck theme. I found this poster online at Oriental Trading. It was perfect. It says "I Dig Being 1". Then they customized it with Stockton's name.

I made Stockton's cake complete with "dirt" (crushed up cookies) and his toy trucks.

All the kids got a hard hat instead of a party hat.

Emily and Ashley sportin' their stylin' hard hats.

The Birthday Boy woke up right in time for his party.

He didn't know what to think when everyone started singing to him. He just looked around, so confused.

But, he wasn't shy with his cake. He ate it for a few minutes before he decided he didn't like the feeling of the frosting on his fingers.

Stockton got so many fun gifts!

He got tons of new trucks and he had a blast with them! He and Grandpa Orgill are playing trucks.

He loved pushing his new Teddy Bear from Poppa and Teenser around in his dump truck from the Donahues.

All his trucks! He got one of every size! What a fun Birthday! Happy Birthday Stockton! We love you!

Easter Fun

Easter was so much fun with a little one this year.

First we colored eggs on Saturday night with Brady's family.

We did some with mission themes - the flags of the countries we served in. Italy (for my brother-in-law, Josh), Peru, and England (Where Brady's brother Jrodan is now.)

Here's Elder Haider's pic with his Great Britain flag I colored for him.

Of course we had to get basketball and the Jazz in the mix.

The Easter Bunny left a basket for Stockton with an outfit and a Bob the Builder DVD. He also left an outfit for Brady and some Mini Eggs for me!

This is how the Easter Bunny started the day - coming to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy.

I don't know if kids come programmed or what. Stockton knew exactly what to do: 1. Find the eggs.

2. Open them.

3. Eat the treat inside and 4. Find more eggs and repeat

We ended up putting cheetos and cheerios in the eggs, since Stockton's not quite old enough to eat candy. But, he LOVED it!

After morning session of Conference, it was off to Grandma Haiders for another egg hunt. Stockton found some good ones... like this one in the puppets mouth.

Stockton helping put all the hard boiled eggs in the carton after we found them.

The easter bunny left some great stuff for Stockton! A cute little chair, a book, an outfit and toy missionaries.


Stockton loved easter with his little cousin, Anellina. (Gotta love Aunt Holly crashed on the couch in the background.)

Then it was off to Grandma Orgill's house for yet another Easter Egg Hunt!

There were only a handful of the grandkids, so it wasn't as rowdy, but it was still a blast!

But, as fun as it was, it was really special to listen to Conference and hear all the wonderful testimonies of Jesus Christ and really remember the reason for the holiday: to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. I am so grateful for Him and that He died for me, but more importantly that He lives for me.

Couple of Stink Bugs

Stockton sleeps in the funniest positions, but the one that always had me laughing was what we lovingly call "The Stink Bug."

With his little bum up in the air. When I took this picture I asked Brady, "How in the world does he sleep like that??" I just could not fathom sleeping in this position.

Well... the next night I went into bed early. About 1/2 later Brady came in and found this...

He whispered, "Rach... are you still praying?" No response.... He gave me a little shake... no response. He got nervous and leaned down to see if I was still breathing. I was. So he thought it was pretty funny that I had indeed fallen asleep in a very similar "Stink Bug" position while I was praying. So he snapped this picture... still no response. He climbed into bed and FINALLY I moved onto my back. He said, "Rach you fell asleep praying." I was in complete denial, until he showed me this picture and then the tingles started. My left leg was so asleep it hurt so bad!

But, I guess it is possible to sleep like a sting bug. Although I do not recommend it.

SomeBUNNY Loves You!

Brady's sister, Holly is quite the character. Literally... she's worked at Disney World as different Disney characters. She has been "friends with" Winnie the Pooh, Chip and Dale, Turk (from Tarzan), and a bunch of others. She does such a good job and loves it. At Christmas time she was one of Santa's helpers at South Towne mall. Well she was so good with the kids that they called her back to work for them again....

As the Easter Bunny!

So we had to go see her. I was nervous that Stockton would be scared, but he wasn't at all. As soon as he got on her lap he pointed up at the nose, because I've been teaching him where his nose is.

The guy taking photos was not allowed to take a photo for me with my camera, so I did my best to do it myself. It was hard fitting all three of our heads in the shot!

Stockton got to take home some cute bunny ears. He wouldn't keep them on very long, but he thought it was hilarious when I wore them.

Holly was just doing this on weekends and she's not working on Easter weekend, so if you wanted to go see her, you've missed it. But, the Easter Bunny is still there, it's just not her wearing the costume, and her boss said she was the best one! But, it's free. They want you to spend an arm and a leg for some of their photos, but they won't force you.