Primary Activity

Jeff and I are primary teachers and we have been promising our kids a firetruck ride and kids meals at the Hook and Ladder if they would behave in class. They've been pretty good so we decided to have the party before the kids started school again. I think the kids had fun, what kid wouldn't? I mean its food and a firetruck ride. The party wasn't very long we ate and went on the truck for about 10 minutes and then came back to the Hook for ice cream. After that we took the kids home and called it a day!


(Easton, Isaiah, Alex, Kaylyn, and Ina)

Our new routine

Breakfast at the Hardens is all about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Eliza has to watch this cartoon every morning while she eats breakfast, she wakes up and asks for juice and then ask for Minnie(that is what she calls Mickey Mouse). So I have to pull her chair into the living room she wont get into it until Minnie is on! Since we don't have a DVR we have to go off our On Demand and there are only four episodes, which Jeff and I have already memorized them, but Eliza doesn't seem to mind watching the same ones over and over and over, and yes over again!! I didn't want to make a habit out of this but some times you have to pick your battles, right? I justify it because she seems to eat better and it's a educational cartoon. Her favorite part of the show is the end, the Hot Dog dance and song, as most of you know Eliza loves to dance!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePMYM4av6Q&feature=email

Sad Day!

You know summer is coming to an end when Raging Waters is
no longer open on weekdays. Today was our last day at Rag
with the Baer's, Eliza and I are so sad. Since I went part time
Lesley and I have gone to Rag at least once a week sometimes
twice. It has been fun for Eliza to play with her cousins, they have been so cute with her.


Today was a special day, both the boys went down the biggest slide at Ragging Waters, the Acapulco Cliff Dive. It was so funny to see their little bodies coming down the slide, on this slide you have to go on a little mat head first. I was surprised that they went down but I think Uncle Christian had something to do with it. I can't remember the age I was when I first went on it but I don't think I was 6 so way to go Andrew and Aiden.




Jeff and I have also been taking Eliza to Rag on Saturdays, It also has been fun for Eliza to spend time in the pool with her Daddy! At first she was scared to go down the kiddie slides but once down with Daddy, and the fear was gone. She kept saying MORE! MORE!




Cheese! She has to say this every time she sees a camera. We think it is funny because some times we think she wants cheese but no, she just wants the camera.

NYC Trip

In July we went back to the Big Apple. The first day we were there we slept in a little since we got in at 2am the night before and that morning we waited for the Palfreyman's to get there. Once they arrived we decided to go and find the fireworks since it was the 4th of July, we herd there was a great show down on the Hudson River by the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. So we headed down there and got a spot but once the firework show started we couldn't see anything because the spot where we picked to watch the bridge pillar was right in our view, but none the less it still was fun!


Day two:
We went to the Museum of Natural History, You know the one where the film The Night at the Museum was filmed, OK so that is what I imagined it would be like. When we got there it was nothing like the movie, I guess you can't believe everything you see in Hollywood, right? Silly Me! There were a couple of things that they did show in the movie that were at the museum, like Margaret and T REX, But even though it wasn't completely like the movie it was still really awesome. There was so much to see you could spend three or four days just at the museum.

Once finished there we to a walk through Central Park in the rain trying to find the castle but we gave up and decided to start going towards the subway. The rain stopped so we went to the big toy store FAO Schwarz. Eliza liked it there because she could play on all the toys!






Then we walked down Fifth Ave and saw some to the Cathedrals and Rockefeller Center. That night we ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.(My first Hard Rock experience) and afterwards stopped by the Toys R' Us in Time Square.
It was a busy day!













Day Three:
Half of the gang went to Mary Poppins while Jeff, Ron, Eliza, Lindsey and I headed to the Dylan's Candy Bar. It was a pretty cool little candy shop all the candy you can imagine, and of cause Jeff having the sweet tooth he does we had to buy some. We did a lot of walking that day (OK in NYC that is all you do it seems!!) We also went and saw the Manhattan Temple and then it was time to meet up with the rest of the group. Once we had all of us together we headed to the castle in Central Park that we didn't get to see the day before, we found it and then decided to head to the Alice and Wonderland Statue. With having completed all of this we decided to hit up a pizza parlor and call it a day.Day four:
Lady Liberty here we come!! It was amazing to go to this great land mark, I've gone before but this time we got tickets to up to the platform so that was exciting. Spent a little time on the Island and then it was off you Ellis Island, when I came with my friend a couple of years ago we didn't go here so it was interesting to hear some of the stories of the immigrants. We also went down Wall Street that day, You can't visit NYC an not see Wall Street. We finished there and Ron, Amy, Daniel, Jeff and I all went to see The Phantom of the Opera.Day Five:
Since this would be the last full day we would be in the Big Apple we thought we would hit the Empire State Building. From there we went to the United Nations building which by this point I think the whole group was so tired, we all had what we called New York feet and we were just drained from the fast past of things from the four days before. So needless to say we didn't go on the tour and weren't there very long. That night some of the gang went to the Mets game, they had to hit some baseball games while we where there.



Day Six( last Day in NYC):
We went to a Yankee's game, Jeff had to make it back there to see a game in the old stadium since this is the last season they play there. The game was hot but they won in the tenth inning!! Go Yankees!!
After the game we headed up North to Cooperstown.
(They gave out these mustaches at the game)

Day Seven:
Cooperstown is where the Baseball Hall of Fame is, we spent all day going through the Hall of Fame and going souvenir shopping.Day Eight:
Woke up early and went to the Church sites Whitmer Farm, Hill Cumorah, Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith Farm and the Temple. Then that night we went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant.
Day Nine:
I would say this was my highlight of the trip, we went to Niagara Falls what an amazing creation!! First we went on the Maid Of the Mist boat ride and got close to the fall and drenched. The we went the Cave of the Winds, where you walk underneath the falls which got us more drench, and if the falls weren't getting us wet then the rain was.
Day Ten( Home, Home, Home Again):
We were supposed to get home at 8 PM that night but our flight was delayed due to storms in Atlanta and we didn't get home until 2AM I was so tired and had to get up for work the next morning. But it was worth it I love vacations even when they don't always go as planned.

Little Eliza

OK, so I know it has been a long time since our blog was updated, what can I say I'm just not a blogger! So I have decided to make it a goal to update once a week since I went part time, OK maybe I shouldn't set the bar so high. Once a week now that is a lot for the Harden Clan since as you can tell we update about once a year. But really I will try, just can't make any promises.

Little Eliza is getting so big she is talking a lot and now is at the stage of " Do it MYSELF"!! Or as she would say Liza, Liza. She has to try to do everything herself and then once she decides she can't do it then she ask for help. It can get a little irritating sometimes especially when we are in a hurry and we have to wait for Eliza to put her shoes on or her clothes. I have come to realize this is just the beginning she will be like this the rest of her life.