Adam and Heather Hayes

Well, I've spent a lot of time lately out in our driveway trying make a path for our vehicles.

Yesterday morning was disheartening because it would blow in faster than I could dig us out. Luckily, the wind died down a bit in the afternoon and I was able (with the help of Stuart) to make the driveway look like a driveway again (instead of rolling hills).

Today was the same way. It just keeps blowing us in, and it sounds like we are in for a couple of big storms again this week. The kids are loving it though. They have their own little "mountain". They have been outside playing a lot (especially since we've had a lot of snow days these last few weeks.

As for now, I think I'll just stay here in my nice warm office and be glad I don't have to drive to work. 

For Family Night we frosted and decorated Halloween cookies and took them around to people in the ward.  This was Vi's first time doing it herself, and she did quite well!

We almost forgot to carve our pumpkins this year.  They made such lovely decorations as just...pumpkins.

Erith and Tricity drew their own designs on the pumpkins the day before Halloween, and we carved them as they were, no modifications. 

Erith's ^   and   Tricity's v

But, since Vi didn't really get the whole draw a carvable face on the pumpkin idea, Adam carved his own design.  Have you all read or seen The Sorcerer's Apprentice?  A childhood favorite of mine!

Tricity decided to be Belle for Halloween, like Erith was a couple years ago.  Erith was a witch with green hair.  (We have an orange hair option as well.)  Vi was going to be a bunny but Halloween night she got all grouchy with me and insisted on being a frog.  So she was.  Clara wore her Halloween candy clothes and a witch headband for the picture.

We went to the community Trunk or Treat and to a few close neighbors and primary teachers.  Then we went home and got what Erith and Tricity used to call "stummyaches."

Well, we made it through another very busy Christmas season.

It seems like we spent most of December running here, there and back again. (However, we didn't do any running the week of Christmas because of the weather. Then we just spent our time digging out our driveway time after time. Luckily, Santa was able to beat the weather and make it a very nice Christmas for us all.

The girls had a blast with their new gifts. Erith got a doll that she could "do hair" on. Tricity got a microphone, it just happened to be connected to a karaoke machine. Vi got her very own laptop learning thing and Clara got her own care bear. Mom got the Twilight series and hasn't surfaced since. I got a sander and a jig saw as my main gifts, plus some other fun Wii stuff.

Overall it was a great Christmas. My sisters spent Christmas Eve at our place, which means we stayed up really late talking and playing. Everyone had come over the night before to have our "Hayes Christmas" on Christmas Eve. I'm still the leg wrestling champion and we didn't have any bruised heels or broken egos this year.

Hello everyone, I can't believe a month has passed since Clara was born. Erith and Tricity have had their end of the school year parties and programs, and T-Ball practice starts this week. Summer is here! Now if we could just have more than one day of sunshine at a time...

I have been inside with the baby watching the rain and actually longing to do some gardening and yard work! Clara is growing up so fast. She likes to use her neck even though she probably shouldn't. She is awake more. She's very alert and loves being entertained by her sisters.

Viola is very interested and protective of her. When she cries she gets Adam or I and says "Mon! Mon! Baby!" as she pulls on our hand.

Erith has become my second set of hands, bless her heart. I am usually taking care of Clara when Vi needs assistance, so Erith helps, like a second Mom. I sometimes have to remind her that I am still THE Mom though!

Erith may be the baby/toddler tender but Tricity is my cleaner. It's amazing how messy a house gets with four kids, and Tric is my quick to obey house cleaner, yeah for her!

I really love my girls, and wouldn't trade a one of them. They have a sweetness and a goodness that they were born with that has nothing to do with me. Even when I'm tired and grouchy they still love me and forgive me and want to be by my side. I have noticed Erith hanging out with me A LOT lately. She is constantly watching and mimicking me. I definitely need to watch my words and attitude. It's embarrassing to see some of my episodes repeated!

Well, we are glad to have water again (read Adam's explanation on that) and wish you all a Happy Memorial Day!

(There are a bunch of new pictures of the baby and the other kids in the Image Gallery under Kids 2008 , check them out!)

This was our first vacation in our new SUV.  It was nice, and very different.  Our Saturn Outlook is an 8 passenger vehicle, it's like a short suburban; thus one person had to sit way in the back.  The other 2 back seats we folded down so we would have more room for our stuff.  This is a sampler of our vacation pictures.  To see TONS more go to the IMAGE GALLERY up above and then click on 2008 vacation.

Monday we left home early in the morning and drove to Ogden and went to the Eccles Dinosaur Museum.  It was mostly out of doors, which we weren't expecting, but they had made some very cool dinosaur recreations/interpretations.  There are a bunch of different dinosaur museums in Utah.  This was not the one I went to in elementary school.

They had lots of photo face hole places to take pictures and the kids insisted on sticking their heads into EVERY hole!

They had places where you could dig up or brush off dinosaur bones and eggs.

There were real fossils and fossil replicas inside. Oh, and one robotic dino display.

After we were done at the dinosaur museum we drove to Midway.  My cousin Camille lives there and we stayed there that night.  We had an excellent barbecue lit by torches AND glow-in-the-dark earrings!

Tuesday we started the day with cute hair for once! (Thanks to Camille)

Then we went fishing!  We didn't catch anything, but we'd rather catch nothing than catch a duck, right Camille? :)

Camille invited a family of cute little boys to come along and teach my cute little girls how to fish.  Fun fun!

Then we headed to our hotel in Salt Lake City.  We dropped off our stuff and then went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum by riding the TRAX.

The Kid's Museum had a ball blower machine, a house, farm, grocery store, water works, TV station, helicopter, magnet wall, and tons more.  Its was pretty fun, but again, I was disappointed it wasn't as cool as I remember MY children's museum experience being. :)

Then we went to Temple Square.  The kids were pretty tired by then so we didn't stay too long.

We went back to the hotel to swim in the pool and sleep.  Erith and Tricity learned to float that night in the pool, that is a big accomplishment for them!

Wednesday was Lagoon Day!  Adam's whole family and Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins met us there for a day of fun!

This is Vi with her Uncle Gabe.

LagoonABeach was NOT a good idea for 2 adults with 4 little kids. Let's just say we got to play for less than an hour before Vi had a BAD accident in her swimsuit (Which was the only accident she had all vacation I might add) and I couldn't find Adam with our locker key. :(  And to top it off I am now 3 little girl swimsuits less than when I got there. One I THREW AWAY, the other 2 were accidentally left there. So this is the only picture I have of these cute suits, sniff.

Adam's family took the kids so Adam and I could go on some thrill rides like Wicked and the Colossus.  I was too chicken to do the Spider. I don't do a lot of spinning.  Then we did some all family rides, like the train as you see above.

Erith and Tric even did the WHITE ROLLERCOASTER! That was quite a step up from the kiddieland rides they did all day.  Vi rode the merry-go-round about 8 times that day!

Thursday was our last day and sadly we didn't charge the camera so there aren't a lot of pictures of this day.  We went to Hogle Zoo then This is the Place Monument then to Ogden to have dinner with Adam's sister Andrea. Here's what we have:

This is the Place is much cooler when you can go into Pioneer Village but we showed up 5 minutes before they closed. Darn.

Well, it was fun to play more, drive less this vacation.  We recomend all the places we went if you are planning a vacation for little kids! (Lagoon is for everyone of course!)

Where have I been the past few months?  Well, this is Idaho, and it is winter, so believe it or not, I've been cooped up in the house.  Reading books, watching old movies, and for the past couple weeks exercising! 

I have a goal to lose at least 30 pounds this year. I've joined a group of ladies in my ward who walk 3 miles every morning (5 days a week, M-F) and lift weights immediately after on Tuesday and Thursday (our whole stake is invited to that).  I hope going from nothing to this will be a big improvement.  It has already helped my mood a ton.  January always makes me so stir-crazy.  I'm usually broke after Christmas, thus I don't leave the house much.  I feel like everyday is the same, and there is nothing to look forward to, and I just get down and sad/grouchy.  So I am LOVING the happier mind-set exercise gives me, and I'm sure my family is too. 

We are going to do a complete overhaul on our upstairs bathroom when we get our tax return back.  (Since we incorporated in 2008 we had to pay 90% of Adam and Heather Hayes' AHFX 2007 earned income AND AH Digital FX Studios Inc., so this years return should be a good one) 

Our bathroom is straight out of the 70's from baby blue sink, toilet, and tub to the blue plaid carpet. Yeah, gross, I know. So all new everything, even cabinetry.  Yes, the carpet is going, it will be replaced with: most likely tile.  Post on the comment section the likes and dislikes of all your flooring and counter tops.  We are leaning towards tile floors and granite counter tops.  (Is tile to hard and cold on your feet and does granite show too many splatters and fingerprints?)  We will do before and after pictures of it.

We'll be adding more toys to our swingset, and hopefully... laying some cement for a basketball/volleyball court. It should be a fun, busy year!