Hayden, The Cowboy

Hayden and I went over to McArthur today. We visited with friends at the Farm Supply for a little while and then went over to the Cutting Horse show to see the cows and horses.

While we were at the store, Hayden played with the plastic animals with Maria. Needless to say, mummy ended up buying a 3" plastic horse before we left the store because it was an obvious favorite.

At the fairgrounds, Hayden and I saw many friends so we got to visit for a long time. We watched the actual Cutting for a little while too. Hayden was very impressed by the horses and cows. Maybe we have a little cowboy in our future?

At The Pool

Hayden and I went to the local pool for a couple of hours this afternoon. The sun was shining, there was hardly any smoke from the fires...perfect. Hayden spent most of the time in his crab "walking" around the pool. He loves collecting the floating toys and put them in the front part of his crab.

He found this yellow duck there. He immediately fell in love with it. Before we left to come home, Hayden would bring me the duck and I would throw it across the pool. He would walk over and get it and bring it back! Reminded me of how we get the dog tired.....

Hayden, Boone and The Water Bottle

The above videos were recorded this morning. Hayden has a thing for water bottles and so does Boone...makes for a perfect partnership.

Do not be alarmed at the growling in the second video...that is Hayden; NOT, Boone!

An Afternoon At The Ranch

I try to get Hayden out and about everyday. Yesterday afternoon, we decided to go and visit the horses at the Strickland Ranch. Hayden played with the horse brushes and Diane's dog, Katie, while Diane and I visited. It is really nice to sit in front of the barn, in the shade, and chit-chat.

Hayden loves to watch the horses as Diane leads them out to their pastures. For the first time, Hayden got to see this year's foal, Joe. As with all new things, Hayden is curious of the horses. Who knows?...Maybe mummy has a riding buddy in a few years time!!

Here Boone....

...TAKE IT!

"Hanging" Out With Dad

When I got home from work on Saturday evening, Hayden, Shane and Boone were all outside in the front garden playing in the sunshine. It was nice to come home to a greeting party!!

Shane decided that Hayden is not too young to start climbing trees....Hayden had a great time - like father, like son!!

Catch-Up

My apologies for not getting on here sooner and updating the blog. Hayden is continuing to grow...in both height and personality. He is an amazing amount of fun to be around;so, we have been taking advantage of his "fun-loving" personality by going to the pool once a week and spending lots of time outside. He knows a variety of signs now and can tell you when he is thirsty, hungry or if there is a bird, fan or light in the near vicinity! He understands more signs than he is able to do at this point - he is just so smart! However, he cannot differentiate between the signs for mum and dad...so, Shane and I have the same sign!

We had an amazing thunder and lightning show about 5 days ago. The lightning was intense and went on for hours. Apparently, there were over 1800 lightning strikes in the local area. Despite having a little rain with the storm, the lightning set off over 30 fires locally. A couple have affected houses. Burney seems to be the eye of the storm, with fires all around us. Thankfully, the wind has kept the town relatively clear of smoke...so far at least.

August is a slower month for the Lodge...which, honestly, is nice. I am tired and it is nice to be spending a little more time at home with Hayden. He has been coming to work with me more and more as it is so quiet at the Lodge. I am lucky that I get to take him to work.

Shane, for those of you that don't know, passed his RPF (Registered Professional Forester) examinations that he took in April. I am, as always - in everything he does, amazingly proud of him. He was not motivated or excited about studying the material; but, managed to do what he needed to. He has also built a sprinkler system in our front and back gardens. It is so lovely to not have to go out and move sprinklers around. It would be an under-statement to begin to talk about how incredible Shane is when he puts his mind to something.

Well, I think that is all for now. I will continue to do better on uploading to the blog.

Much love, Marisa.