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Weekend off for Mike

2010-05-16T01:40:00.001-07:00

Mike works a lot and so we don't have a lot of weekends together. So when he isn't working we try and go out and do stuff. Today (actually yesterday) ended up being a REALLY nice day, so we took our time getting ready and let Payton play outside in the morning. Once we were ready we went to Edmonds Beach and Payton played at the playground, and we walked out to the water and found shells, seaweed (payton thought were snakes), and Mike showed Payton how to skip rocks on the water. We went to the mall and Mike and I both got some workout shoes, and Payton got a toy from the Disney store and we also got a Wii game. We came home and Barbequed some steaks, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes, and I made a big salad. Payton then played "lets dance" (the game we bought) on the Wii. She LOVES it. Totally gets into it. Her favorite song was Hot N' Cold to dance to. It was cute! I then made some cookies for dessert.

On our way to the beach

Beautiful Day

Looking for some good rocks to skip

the girls and I

Ice Caves

2010-05-16T01:06:00.000-07:00

We had plans on Monday, the day after Mother's Day to hike up to the Ice Caves. It was supposed to rain so we made other plans to go bowling, and go out for pizza. I really didn't want to get up at the crack of dawn, wake up Payton and go hike up a Mountain with a crazy grumpy 3 year old..just potty trained and won't pee ANYWHERE else but a little potty, an infant in a stroller and 1500 (ok 8) other children under the ages of 10, in the cold, and mud to look at ice. Apparently I was a party pooper.

So I get a call Wednesday late morning. It was my sister from Minneapolis that is here visiting, telling me that they were going to go to the Ice Caves. I told them to go ahead and go without us. Then I realized it was nice out, a good 65 degrees, the sun was shining, and Payton was already up and ready to go out and do stuff. So we drove our little butts out to the ice caves. It was a pretty drive and the hike was fine. I just don't recommend strollers...but it wasn't too bad. Madyson slept pretty much the entire hike and Payton had to sit on the stroller my sister was pushing, but she did walk a little. It was pretty when we reached the Ice "caves". The caves were no longer...they had been avalanched over, so really alls you could see were glaciers at the base of the mountain.

There are 4 Ice Caves / Avalanches at the base of the mountain. This picture doesn't really show how BIG it really was. But they were HUGE. I was pretty far away

On the way back down...

Not everyone was able to go on the day we went. So it was just both of my sisters, their kids, and Jen's husband Brian.

The Girls

2010-05-16T00:26:00.000-07:00

Well I am happy to announce that I officially have a potty trained 3 year old. It is about time. I finally just decided to let her decide when she wants to go. And so she did. She only wears pull-ups at night, and LOVES to announce when she goes poopy or pee on the potty. She even makes me go in and look just about EVERY time. The only trouble we are having is her going to the bathroom anywhere but our house, my mom's, or her cousin's. Honey Buckets are out of the question and anything that is a stall or a "Big Potty". Oh well, she will come around..eventually, just maybe not the Honey buckets, I still have a hard time walking in one of those.

Madyson is now almost 10 weeks old. We went to an appt. a few days ago and she weighed 10 lbs 9 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long, she is in the 25% range for her age. She is a petite little thing, with a cute little belly. She is sleeping alllll through the night, which makes me a happy camper. She is a very calm little girl. She only cries when she wants to eat or to be held. She does like to be held a lot though. She likes to cuddle, and smiles all the time for me, especially right when she wakes up. Payton and her look soooo much a like at this age, its crazy. I will have to find 2 pictures to do a side by side. The only difference is the hair. Madyson is totally a red head.

This is Payton at 3 or 4 months...I'm still looking for a good picture of Madyson to compare

Just the other day I took the day to completely clean out Payton's room, re-paint her furniture, and move it around so I had room for the crib. I think it turned out cute. I just need to get letter's and paint them for above Madyson's crib. Payton was soo excited to get to sleep in the same room with her, but she may have changed her mind now that she can't be loud when Madyson is in there sleeping.

Sorry the pictures are so bad, I only really ever use my camera on my phone. My digital camera is about done for.

Announcements.....I NEED ADDRESSES!!!!

2010-05-16T00:15:00.001-07:00

I have FINALLY gotten the announcements to send out for Madyson. I ended up taking the pictures myself and then making the collage on the computer. I just have to pick them up from Costco and mail them. So this means I need addresses, that is if you want one :).

Addresses I have recieved already are:
Grandma and Grandpa Schitoskey
Jimmy and Sherry
Kelley and Dean

Haha, sad I know. I don't have a lot as you can see, so send me yours and anyone else's as I want to get them out to all the family and friends as possible. I will get them out this week.

Mother's Day

2010-05-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been getting nicer and nicer, and we have been able to spend more time outside and keep our windows open. It was a really nice Mother's Day and we spent it with all of my family. My sister and her family were able to make it from Minneaplolis and spend Mother's Day with us as well. We haven't all been together for a few years, so of course we had to take a family picture. Dinner was yummy. We marinated a turkey and BBQ'd it. We have never done it like that before but it turned out good, so it may end up happening every year.

Mike and Payton cooked me breakfast that morning and I kinda had a lazy day. As lazy as I could with an 8 week old baby. But it was nice that I didn't have to do everything I normally do.

From Left to Right: Lauren, Madyson, Grandma, Hailee, Kaitlyn, Samantha, Grandpa, Lilly, Emma, Payton, Madelyn and Cole.

All the family and wives, husbands, and grandkids all together.

Getting my attention

2010-04-08T02:56:00.000-07:00

So I guess Payton has been getting jealous that I am constantly either feeding Madyson, holding her and just in general taking care of her. She has seemed to be making me laugh more and more by the things she does to get me to pay more attention, and I guess it's been working. A few examples...

I was sitting on the couch feeding Madyson, Payton walked up to me and asked if she could play salon. I of course said "yes". She had some "FAKE" scissors in her hand and a brush and like a little plastic blow dryer. She is cutting and combing away and about 5 minutes into it, I look at my shoulder and see hair that is no longer attached. I of course FREAK out. These were plastic scissors and I could not for the life of me figure it out, and still don't know how it happened. Payton just sat that there and told me "you look beautiful". To make a short story short, I had to do a lot of blending and evening up of the sides. It looks fine now....whew!!!

Payton makes HUGE messes in her room and she isn't allowed to have any kind of food in there, although I find smuggled hot dogs, GUM, cheese, fruit snacks and chips in her room daily. I walked into her and find pringles smashed in the carpet and her room looking like a tornado ripped through. I asked her to clean it, and come back to find her passed out in bed 5 minutes later. Here is the picture and her little head sticking out from under the covers.

The other day I went in the bathroom to wash my hands and couldn't find the purple towel that we use to dry off our hands. I asked Payton if she knew where it was. This was her response...

"It's in the toilet and I didn't put there so mom don't be mad" Ummm...what?

She then admitted to Mike that night that yes she did put it in the toilet. I'm still trying to figure out of she tried flushing it down because the toilet has not been acting itself lately.

She has been saying the funniest stuff lately too. I ask her to try and use the potty and she says "mom you got to be patient". So I have been throwing it back at her and when she asks for something and instead of her throwing a fit if I don't do it right when she wants it I ask her to be patient. She just laughs, much better than a tantrum.

We were at the store the other day and Madyson starts crying and REALLY loudly in line Payton says "she is really really hungry and needs to eat your booby". EVERYONE laughed, even the people in the next line over. I was almost crying it was too funny!

It's too late now so I should probably go get some sleep before Madyson wakes up. Sorry there are soo many updates. I will try and do monthly ones, if not weekly.

Easter!

2010-04-08T02:44:00.001-07:00

The Easter bunny decided to stop by our house this year and brought way too much candy. I have eaten a lot of it. Next year the Easter Bunny will most likely be bringing veggies and bottled water.

Payton loves holidays, but seems to think that Santa comes during each holiday as well. I have been trying to explain to her these things, but I don't think she believes me. She asks if I'm "really totally kidding". She definitely makes me laugh.

We got the girls matching Easter dresses but Mike didn't do so hot on the picture taking skills, so I will have to RE-DRESS them up and recapture the moment. So right now is what you get.

just some random pictures

2010-04-08T02:38:00.001-07:00

Madyson is 1 month old here and looks IDENTICAL to Payton. I will try and find a good picture to do a side by side. It so crazy!

Madyson and Hailee...linking arms! Too cute

Madyson 2 days old

Home from the hospital and family arrivals

2010-04-08T01:59:00.000-07:00

We got home from the hospital on the March 10th. It just happened to be the day that Sherry and Jimmy were flying in. We hadn't seen Sherry (mike's mom) in almost 4 1/2 years and had never met Jimmy, and it was Payton's first time meeting both. It was great to have them here and visit. They kept Payton busy and I think the transition for her and having a baby in the house easier. Suzie (mike's sister) was also able to fly in. It was fun catching up with everyone.

Mike took them to Seattle and a few of the "fun" places people like to go when they visit here.

I seem to be the picture taker in the family because Mike never seems to take pictures of anything, so there aren't many pictures of their visit except the ones I stole from Sherry.

Madyson and I

Sherry and Madyson

Payton and Sherry making cookies

Suzie and Payton brushin'

Suzie and Madyson

Payton playing at the park

Mike and I at Red Robin

Payton and Suzie loved making faces at eachother

Big sister kisses

Awww...

Payton and her "build a bear" that Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Jimmy help her make. It's name is "Princess". Madyson also had one made, but I can't find the picture :(

Mike and Payton at the Seattle Center

At the park swinging. It was FREEZING

Grandpa Jimmy and the girls

Daddy and his girls

Madyson Ashlee West: March 9th 2010

2010-04-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

After all the holidays I had increased my hours at school by about 20 hours. I was putting in a lot of time and trying to stay healthy too. I wasn't able to ever feel good especially with being on my feet 10+ hours a day wasn't helping me out. I took a leave on Febuary 12th as I couldn't handle much more and my back was killing me. My dr. also told me that she was probably going to arrive a lot sooner than expected and to be ready.

I didn't do a whole lot waiting for her to come. Mostly organizing, laying down, cleaning, laying down and picking up the last few things we needed before I went into labor.

A MONTH LATER:

I had a dr. appt on March 8th at 4:00pm. Mike and Payton both came with me. (Mike took a leave from work because I was starting to have signs of pre-eclampsia the previous week). My dr. told me that he can "push" things along, and kinda laughed, as he examined me. I thought to myself...yes please, lets just have the baby right here. But just shook it off. We headed to Target to pick up a few things after my appt. We were there maybe 20 minutes, and it started to become really uncomfortable to walk, and I was having contractions. I had been having contractions for weeks, just nothing that would last long enough to be in "true labor". So I really didn't think anything of it. We finished our shopping and I went home and tried to lay down to rest. The contractions didn't go away and I couldn't make myself comfy. I went out to the living room to sit in the recliner and rock, it seemed to help before take away some of the pressure. 1 1/2 hours later I started timing them and they were about 3 minutes apart and last a good 45 seconds - 1 minute. This lasted for another hour. HOORAY! I was in labor!

Alyssa came over and got Payton and took her to my parents, and Mike took me to the hospital. They had me walk around to try and make my water break (which was NO success, just painful). My cervix kept dialating so they FINALLY admitted me into the hospital at like 10:30ish pm. I got my epiderhal at about midnight and felt comfortable and was starting to relax. I was dialted to about a 6 when I got it. I called my nurse in at about 3:00am as I was starting to feel pressure. She checked me and I was fully dialted and thinned, but my water still had not broke. We called my mom and told her to hurry and get here as I was going to have a baby as soon as they broke my water. Alyssa and my mom finally got there about 3:40 and I only had to push for about 9 minutes and she was born at 3:52am. She is healthy and perfect.

We don't have a lot of pictures because Mike was video recording mostly.

This was taken about 3 weeks before I went into labor

Madyson and my niece Hailee. They are only 2 months apart.

and my backtracking continues..sorry!

2010-04-08T00:45:00.000-07:00

Christmas:

We try to go to Seattle every Christmas Eve and we were actually able to make it there since there weren't inches of snow on the ground. We went to Seattle Center and rode the monorail over to Westlake Center, did a little shopping, Rode on the carousal (sp?) and then walked down to Pikes Place Market.

Santa came and surprised Payton with a table and chairs along with a new doll and a highchair. Alls I can remember her saying was "oh my gosh". Kinda funny! He also left her a letter asking her to go potty on the potty chair...still NOTHIN

We then headed to my parents house for the day to open gifts and spend time with family.

At my mom's work, she has a yearly Christmas party with all the kids.

It's about time!!

2010-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

It's been FOREVER so I will pick up with where I left off....

Halloween:

Payton LOVED going trick or treating. Probably her favorite holiday other than Christmas. She loves candy and anything that involves getting it. This year she was Dorothy. She has obsessed with the Wizard of Oz for awhile so it was only fitting. She even reminded me that she has to have red slippers.

So Halloween landed on a saturday and I ended up having school the whole day and Mike had to work. So Payton went to my parents and my sister watched her and got her ready for the trick or treating festivities. I got home from school to wait for Mike to get home from work so we could run to my parents and take Payton out around their neighborhood. Mike walks out of the bedroom with a HUGE Wheaties costume. I died laughing, because I totally didn't think that he would even decide to dress up. I was dressed as a Tiger or I guess a stripped cat..haha. I got to dress up at school and didn't go to the extremes as Mike.

Her cousins ended up dressing like the Wizard of Oz characters too. I had no idea!

It's been awhile....

2009-12-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

So I haven't been awesome at keeping up with this. My days seem to be getting shorter and my list of things seems to be getting longer. All and all we have been doing pretty good here.

Payton had her 3rd birthday on October 10th. She seems to be getting more attitude as the days pass. She is pretty darn stubborn, and doesn't like to be told what to do unless there is candy, ice cream, or some kind of treat involved. She is still struggling with potty training. She sits on the potty now, (huge improvement) but she hasn't finished the deed yet. I am constantly reminding her that she is a big girl, and I have taken things away that she doesn't get until she goes potty, but it hasn't seemed to phase her yet. It is a daily struggle. Hopefully one of these days it will just click and she will be all about it. She is excited about having a baby sister, and tells me that she also has a baby sister in her tummy and that I need to be careful with it when we are playing. She seems to think she is the boss around here and tries to tell everyone what they should or shouldn't do. I said the word "shut up" the other day and she told me that wasn't nice and wanted me to go to time out and say I was sorry. For halloween she was Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ. She was originally going to be Snow White, but her mind was quickly changed after watching the movie at grandma's. She is getting excited for Christmas and opening presents. She asks everyday if its time yet. She went to a Christmas party at my mom's work that was just for kids and Santa showed up. Payton apparently sprinted towards him and gave him a huge hug, and was super excited to sit on his lap.

Mike is still keeping busy working and doing online classes. He is doing some general studies through Grand Canyon University. It's nice because Boeing pays 100% of the tuition including books, so he is trying to get in as much as possible. We don't see much of eachother, mostly just on the weekends, but usually that is just running errands and doing stuff with the family.

I am still in school and no longer work for Starbucks. It was wearing me out trying to juggle everything I have going. The day after Payton's birthday Mike and I both got sick with the Swine Flu. I was hospitalized for a few days and ended up losing a ton of weight. I weigh less now then when I got pregnant. It is gradually coming back but not a whole lot. Big improvement from when I was pregnant with Payton. This pregnancy seems to be keeping my immune system in the gutter, I catch anything that is going around and seem to be not feeling so well most of the day. I am almost done with school and hope to be done with my hours the first week in March. The baby is due March 16th, so lets just pray that it all works out :)! If you haven't heard yet we are having another girl. We are planning on naming her Madyson. We are excited and can't wait to see what she looks like.

Well I know that was a lot of updating but I have a few pictures that I am going to try and upload tonight as well. Enjoy!

Birthday present from Grandma Wade. A princess blanket.

Pumkin patch: Hay Ride with the cousins

Photoshoot at 11:30 at night. I can't really explain this picture.

Paytons attempt at taking our picture.

Pumpkin Patch

Mike and I, I had just gotten out of school and came home to a Wheaties costume Mike had got for himself. haha

All of her cousins who she went trick or treating with around the neighborhood. They all happened to be characters from the Wizard of OZ as well.

Grandma reading christmas stories to Payton to try and keep on her on the toilet as long as possible. Still NOTHIN!

My mom's Christmas party at her work

Our Christmas Tree

More Christmas party

Me on Halloween

We took Payton to Disney on Ice. She loved it!

Before the show the kids were able to see the Princess', and when we got there it just so happened to be Cinderella. She was freaking out, and blew her kisses and was waving and loved it when Cinderella blew her kisses back. She was on cloud 9.

This was princess Tiana, the newest Princess from the Princess and the Frog. She had no clue or did anyone else know who it was.

Dorothy, she has to wear this outfit everytime she watches the Wizard of OZ.

2009-09-08T18:01:00.001-07:00

Expecting Baby # 2

2009-07-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know or we haven't had a chance to tell we are expecting our 2nd child that will be due March 16th 2010. We are excited and will keep everyone updated on what is going on

Payton Singing Songs

2009-07-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Payton singing. I know it isn't straight, but I can't seem to figure that part out. So this is what you get. You might need to turn up your speaker volume to hear because there is a little bit of background noise.

Slacker.....

2009-07-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything in OVER 2 months, so I thought I would update with what has been going on. Summer has started and a lot has been happening. We are all super busy with life. Mike is working at Boeing still especially all the OT. Payton is having lots of fun sitting on the potty, playing outside, and going to parks and swimming. I am still going to school and working. Pretty much consumes most of my time. Here are some pictures of what has been going on.

These aren't in any kind of order so sorry for skipping around so much!

Payton is doing her "im mad" pose while playing outside with other kids

She thinks she is funny and came out of her room wearing this nice princess outfit. :)

Swimming

Old Navy trying on sunglasses

More princess attire

Climbed in her toybox and threw the majority of her stuff out.

Swimming again. I really like this picture

4th of July my brother Jason and Nathan making a dry ice bomb

This picture is hard to see but I got a pic of Mike actually making the bomb blow up. He is lucky he still has all of his limbs.

Sparklers

4th of July Parade in Downtown Everett

I had the amazing chance to go and by a stylist at the Seattle Hair Show. These were the models doing their dance on the Paul Mitchell Stage

and again...

This was our model that we got to work with.

Grandma Wade made homemade cookies and shipped them to us. This is Payton chowing down one after a morning at the pool.

more swimming..

daddy teaching payton how to swimWe had friends in town from Austin TX, and so we went to Seattle. We went to Pike's Market, Seattle Center, and down to the waterfront for fish tacos at Anthony's. We also rode the monorail. It was a lot of fun!

Seattle Center riding rides

Payton loved this one

First ride ever

We went down to Mukilteo beach to eat at Ivar's one morning before Mike had to work

Finally sitting on the potty, not really doing much after that, but at least it is progress.

Sesame Street Live

2009-05-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

On Friday night a whole bunch of us went with the kids to Sesame Street Live. Payton enjoyed it A LOT and even got a stuffed Elmo. When the show was over she went straight over to where you can buy more suveniers and asked me for money. I was shocked because I didn't think she really knew what money was used for. So anyways I had to drag her out of the building as she is screaming and crying and telling me she wants more money. haha

We have also weaned her from her binki. I feel very accomplished because I have been trying to think of painless ways for the both of us to do it. The idea came to me when I was shopping at Target with her and she kept dropping it, I told her that she can't have it because it is yucky. So I threw it away and she didn't have a problem with it. I figured I was in for a sleepless night, but it didn't happen like that. She just came to me many times that night and said "binki yucky, it went bye bye". Thats it. She has been binki free for almost a week now. Now the next task is potty training. She is sooooo stubborn, hopefully it will just "happen" one day.

Dancing

Sitting on Grandma's lap with her Elmo doll

A group photo of everyone who went

Nothing new...

2009-04-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

We are all doing the same ol' things. Nothing really is new. Payton keeps getting HUGE and constantly talks. The only time she stops is when she is mad at me or is sleeping. She loves to sing and dance, and pose for pictures. She loves to brush my hair and wants me to take pictures of her as she is doing it. She says things that make me us laugh all the time.

Mike is still at Boeing working a lot of OT, so we really only get to see eachother Sundays and Monday mornings. He is keeping busy.

I am still working at Starbucks about 10-15 hours a week and going to school Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We are so blessed to have family and friends help us out with Payton as we are trying to do all these things.

Payton and I playing with the webcam.

instead of coloring on paper, it ended up in her lap.

Chuck E. Cheese for Ryleigh and Tyler's 4th Birthday Party

I colored Mike's hair. I will try and get a picture of it all done.

Payton at her best! :)

Pictures of our Apartment

2009-04-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

So I finally took pictures of our place. I don't know if anyone cares to see them, but I thought I would put them up anyways. Payton wanted to be in all of them so her head might be in some.

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Payton's Bathroom

Payton's Bedroom

Our Bedroom/bathroom

Easter

2009-04-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I know I am getting worse and worse at this. But at least I update it sometimes right?

Our Easter was pretty relaxing although we had a lot going on. We went to church to my parents ward, and then went to their house for dinner. We had a good time. Payton enjoyed Easter as she ran around the house looking for Easter eggs, and coloring them and eating a ton of candy. She didn't get much candy and she seems to really be in the Peep's or as she calls them "pee pee's". Haha Here are some pictures from the day.

Coloring Easter Eggs!

Easter Morning, looking through her Easter Basket

She posed for all of these pictures. We laughed so hard. She was taking the situation very seriously!

Update...

2009-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

So it has been almost 2 months since I have updated this. There has a lot been going on and it seems we keep getting busier and busier.

We moved to our new apartment on January 24th. We love having our own space and our stuff out of storage. Payton has her own room that she loves and can play ALLLL day in with her toys.

Payton seemed to have really grown up in the past few weeks. She is only 2 1/2 but is counting to 10 and somethimes 12 to me. We have been working on colors, and knows what the color pink and green look like. She throws temper tantrums like a pro, and folds her arms and sighs....then tells me "I'm MAD". She does funny stuff and keeps us on our toes. The other day I was driving in the car with her, and I like my music to where I can dance and sing loudly. She kept telling me to be quiet and that I was hurting her eyes. I laughed pretty darn hard.

Mike has just been working, working and working. We really only get to see eachother on the weekends because of our schedules these days. So, the only thing I know he does is work...oh and recently....Guitar Hero.

I started hair school on February 3rd. I am also still working at Starbucks on Monday's and Saturday's. These things have pretty much taken over my life.

We have been keeping busy as you can see, and I will post pictures of our apartment and of Payton as soon as I take some.

Moving...

2009-01-13T16:03:00.001-08:00

We are FINALLY moving and will be in our own place on January 24th. We got an amazing deal and the apartment is close to Boeing and my school. They are called North Creek Apartments and we are close to our friends and in a Ward that I grew up in. We are excited!!

We sold a lot of stuff to pay our bills when Mike was out of work, so now we are trying to get things rounded up so we have what we need!

If anyone has a twin mattress and box spring they would like to donate, let me know :)!

Family Pictures

2009-01-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

My dad took some family pictures when he was home over Christmas! Like everything else I am behind and haven't got any sent out! They turned out cute though! Thanks Dad!

Christmas

2009-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

We had a very nice Christmas this year. I had to work both Christmas Eve and Day so it was just a little strange. Other than that it was very relaxing and fun to be with family.

At our Ward Christmas Party

Loved Santa sooo much, she sat on his lap 3 times!

Christmas Eve: Getting ready to open up her present

Payton's Pajama's, Slippers, and Curious George Stuffed animal she opened on Christmas Eve

This was taken on Christmas Eve. We never get snow like this....over a foot!

Mike literally stayed up ALL night Christmas Eve putting this darn thing together! He did an amazing job, and Payton LOVED it!!

She came downstairs so excited, and wanted to wear this outfit right away.

Started cooking right away!

Opening up the rest of the presents with her cookin outfit on!

Alyssa and Josh's Wedding

2009-01-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

So again I have failed to keep this thing up to date! I have a lot to write about and a lot of pictures! So here it goes.....

My sister Alyssa and her boyfriend (Josh) gave us news they were getting married and wanted it to be on December 21st. So, it was a mad dash to get everything ready! It turned out really pretty. They were married at my parent's house and was a very nice ceremony! Josh is in the National Gaurd and didn't know when he was going to be sent out, so they wanted to get married asap. Here are just a few pictures from that day.

My Parents with Josh and Alyssa

Snow!!!!!

2008-12-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

For the past days it has been sooo cold here and we have been getting some snow. It looks pretty, but I think I am ready for it to disappear, as people around here don't know how to drive and schools being closed due to 1-2 inches. Here are some pictures I took with my phone.

This is driving into our housing development

My Niece Emma (adorable)

Payton (cutest kid ever)

The front of the house the morning it snowed. It was about 4:30 am as I was headed off to work!

Busy...

2008-12-11T14:29:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted anything in a while so thought I would update you on all we have been doing for the past month....

Payton is talking a lot more and being very interactive in conversations, and we have to watch EVERYTHING we say because she copies it all. She loves Nursery at church and does well with all the kids. She loves acting like a princess and always picks out dresses to wear so she can spin in them. Sometimes the only way I can get her to do things is by telling her that princess's do it, and then she is all about the idea. She has a good friend named Tristan and since they are only 2 weeks apart they get along great. I try to get her together with him once a week, because they have a ton of fun and it wears her out. She loves board games, flashcards and listening to music and dance. She had her 2 year well child visit just last week and everything is great with her. We are still working on getting her to the toilet and getting her off the binki, we are trying to enforce that it is only for night night time. It has only been a few days, so wish us luck on that one :). She has been having fun with all the Christmas decorations up and everytime we walk in the house she says "Ohhhh, sooo pretty", and loves looking at Christmas lights on people's houses.

Mike has been going to physical therapy for the past 3 weeks. He is walking without his boot or crutches or anything and is doing very well. He is still on light duty at work and so he hasn't had to work any overtime. It is hard for him to get motivated to go to work because he says they have nothing for him to do except little things here and there. Hopefully when he is off light duty that will change.

I am currently working at Starbucks and actually enjoying it. I am working close to 40 hours a week and start really early in the morning and get off right before Mike has to leave for work. We see eachother in passing and pass Payton off. I am starting school Febuary 3rd at Northwest Hair Academy. I couldn't be more excited. I just started working out 3 times a week with a friend. Hopefully I will get in shape as I haven't done anything in a few years :(.

That seems to be it for us right now. We are going to get family pictures taken so will post them and send some out with Christmas cards. They may be a little late, but I am never on time with them anyways. I will be sending Payton's pictures in them as well, so don't think I forgot. Give me your addresses if you haven't already!!!

We've been Elfed again....Disco Style

2008-12-06T00:36:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We've been Elfed

2008-12-06T00:31:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

New Address

2008-11-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

We changed our address again. It is back to our physical one. Here it is so whoever needs it can have it!!!

13414 68th Ave. S.E
Snohomish, WA
98296

Happy Birthday Mike

2008-11-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

On Friday it was Mike's birthday! He took the day off from work so that we could spend the day together and go to dinner and hang out with some friends. We went to dinner with our friends to Tony Roma's and we took all of the kids. It was quite interesting as all 4 kids are under the age of 4. We then went over to Erin and Mo's house and had cake and hung out!

We also celebrated his brithday on Sunday with my family. Everyone came over and we had tacos.

He is now officially the big 23!! Thanks everyone for celebrating Mike's birthday with us! He enjoyed it very much!!!

Happy Birthday babe! I love you!

Trick or Treating

2008-11-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

I know these took me forever to get up, but better late than never right? Anyways, Payton got a ton of candy for just the few houses we went to. She had a good time, and enjoyed talking to all of the people who answered their doors. If you can't tell by the pictures she is a poodle.

STRIKE UPDATE!!

2008-11-01T21:45:00.001-07:00

GREAT NEWS!!! Mike just went and voted on the contract earlier today, and it was accepted by 70ish % (can't remember the exact amount). So that means Mike is back to work Monday night!! WOO HOO! We can't be happier. We are going to be super busy again as I am going to continue to work, and go to school here soon! So if we don't do updates all that often that is why.

ALSO, we are looking for a cheap but in good condition car, as we need a 2nd one. If ANYONE knows of anything or knows of anyone getting rid of theirs please let us know. THANKS!

I have pictures of Payton Trick or Treating that I will post probably tomorrow!! Good Night!

Boeing Update

2008-10-27T22:35:00.001-07:00

WOO HOO! We have some hopeful news for Mike to get back to work. We got an update today that they have come up with a contract that the union members will be voting on in the next 4-5 days which means Mike can probably be working next week. If anyone cares to read about it you can go to www.iam751.org and click on the link.

Payton's 2 Year Old Pictures

2008-10-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

I got these taken at the end of August, and was going to get others for her birthday but decided that we might just do family ones for Christmas. She looks so grown up. I will mail each one of the poses to whoever wants them. So please reply with your addresses, and I promise I will put them someplace so I don't have to keep asking.

Halloween Party

2008-10-27T22:15:00.000-07:00

We went to a Ward Halloween Party on Saturday. They had a chili/soup cookoff and then a carnival for the kids. I didn't take my camera but my mom had hers and this was the picture she got of the girls. Payton is a poodle, Lauren is Tinkerbell, Kaitlyn is a clown and Sam is Sharpae from High School Musical. So cute!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

We have made it kind of a tradition that we go to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. There was a really nice one in Snohomish that is called "The Farm" and it's huge. They have a washington state corn maze, petting zoo, fishing, pumpkin patch (of course), hay rides, a bakery and a ton of other fun family things to do.

Payton checking out the sheep, while eating her carmel apple.

On the Hay Ride

Holding and petting a kitten

My Niece Emma, 4 months old

HUGE pumpkin!

Boeing Strike

2008-10-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Mike went and picketed for the first time when we got home from AZ. He wasn't too thrilled as he had the 8:00 pm to midnight shift. My mom, Payton and I decided to drive by where he was and honk loudly and wave, and take pictures.

It's a little dark but it still cracks me up when I see this.

More pictures from our AZ trip!

2008-10-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

I posted just a few others on the previous post, but it kept being reallying annoying and so I decided to post these right here. Most of these are just pictures from our ride home. We went through Lake Powell, it was really pretty.

I didn't get my camera out early enough this was just a little bit of the lake! It was so pretty coming down to it though!

Arizona Trip and Payton's 2nd Birthday

2008-10-23T19:21:00.001-07:00

So we finally were able to take a long awaited trip to AZ. We were super excited to see family that we haven't seen in years, and thanks to them they made it financially possible! With Mike on Strike, and Payton's birthday it was more than a perfect time to get there.

We left Thursday, Oct 2nd and arrived Friday night Oct 3rd. We drove through the night to make it not so painful for Payton to sit for 24-25 hours. She did pretty darn good, as we kept her mouth full with food, her dvd player on, and lots of milk, toys, and rest stops for her to run around at. We first went to Gilbert for a few days to spend the time with Dean, Kelley and Dillon. We all had a good time as they were more than generous while we stayed there. We were well taken care of and we couldn't have asked for anything more. Payton had so much fun with them and not to mention how spoiled she got.

We then headed up to Show Low on Wednesday and went and picked up Suzanne (Mike's sister) in Thatcher at school to take her with us. It was nice to see her again and have all of us catch up. Payton and her got along great, and had fun playing. What a great aunt she is!

We got to Show Low around dinner time and arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa had steaks on the grill and we ate right away. It was yummy too!! Teanna, Peg, Aliesha and Luke along with Mel all came over as well. It was so great to be with everyone. It felt as if we had never left, and we were just carrying on as normal. Payton enjoyed all of the attention she got. She was the center of attention for most of the trip.

Since we were in Show Low for Payton's 2nd Birthday we threw her a little party. Dean, Kelley, Dillon and one of his friends came up for her special day. We had pizza (Payton's favorite) and an ice cream princess cake. She had a good day and enjoyed opening up her presents. She got a HUGE dollhouse that Grandpa made for her, a princess bike with training wheels, dolls, puzzles, books, a stroller, a shopping cart, and some clothes. Thanks to everyone who pitched in as they knew it would be funny to watch us haul it all home. We did get it all home safely though and we thank EVERYONE who came and celebrated her birthday with us. It means a lot to us and we know Payton had a wonderful day.

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone as we wish we were closer. We headed back to Seattle on Monday morning the 13th. We again drove straight through. Payton did well on the way home too. And we were so blessed we got home safely.

So that was a trip in a nutshell. I have a few pics that we took while we we re there. Enjoy!!!!

Payton, Poopa and Nana! I thought I got a picture with Dean and his eyes open. He is not flash friendly :)!

Gangster Nana and her grill! She really had one!!!

Great Grandma Toni playing catch with Payton.

Aunt Suzanne and Payton!

Eating ice cream at DQ in Show Low

on the porch swing

Uncle Mel

Gran Poopa! ( Great Grandpa)

Singing Happy Birthday to her

Eatin pizza with Poopa and Nana

Opening presents

In Aunt Suzies apartment

Sleepover with the cousins

2008-10-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't posted any pictures or anything of our family for quite a few weeks. I have been busy! I will just get you caught up here.

Payton had her first sleepover with some of her cousins. We tried letting her sleep on the air mattress downstairs but that lasted a good 5 minutes. Here are a few pictures of my mom reading all of them a story before they went to sleep. Payton loves her cousins, they keep her entertained for hours.

Happy Birthday Payton!

2008-10-10T10:48:00.001-07:00

I'm sure Kari will have somethings to post but I myself as Payton's daddy wanted to post something as well. Today is Payton's second birthday. How amazing is it to have Payton in my life. I show a lot of selfishness in my life but I do try my hardest to give as much as I can to my daughter who has such an amazing spirit. She is so loving, sweet, beautiful, smart, funny, energetic, and on and on. I could go on all day about how great my daughter is but I feel it and thats one thing that can't be taken away. I want her life to be the best and I hope that she can enjoy today and her party tomorrow as a great point in her life. Happy Birthday sweetie!!!

Arizona Trip

2008-10-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Just an FYI to everyone. Kari, Payton, and I have taken a trip to visit family in Arizona. We left Washington on Thursday October 2nd at about 11pm and we arrived in Gilbert where my dad and step mom live at 1 am October 4th. We'll be spending a few days down here in the valley until Wednesday the 8th and then we'll be heading up to Show Low that day and leaving there for home on Sunday the 12th. So anyone in the valley or in the mountains who would like to see Payton or I (I'm not that important) we'll be around. Updates and pictures will be up in the coming week or so. We'll be having a birthday party for Payton too since it's her birthday on Friday the 10th. So get a hold of us if you're around.

Kisses for Callie

2008-09-23T11:56:00.001-07:00

So a very sad thing happened to some friends of mine from high school. Their youngest sister Callie was accidentally ran over by a car and is now continually fighting to get back to normal. There seems to be a lot of support and prayers for the family and Callie but I also felt I need to try my hardest to help. I've been praying for the family and I ask that all of you who read this consider doing so. She seems like a sweet little girl who doesn't deserve going through such a difficult trial. She's almost the same age as Payton and I could not imagine myself going through such a difficult thing. I would be freaking out! Her sister Ashley, who is one of the friends from school, is holding a raffle on her blog that will end tomorrow at midnight. Also there is additional ways to donate through her blog as well. I'm gonna try and see if I can get the link for the donations as well so you may be able to do it through our blog. From the West family to the Butlers we continue to hope that everything goes well and that Callie continues to get stronger and better. You all will be in our prayers. Here is the link to her blog.
http://ourhappynest.blogspot.com/

Mike

Breast Cancer 3 day - 60 Mile Walk

2008-09-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

My mom for the 2nd year has done the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. She had to raise at least $2,200.00, and do a lot of training walks to be prepared. She started Friday morning and she just got home tonight. We went to the closing ceremonies which were awesome, and I may consider doing it next year! They raised over 8.2 million dollars and there were 3,200 walkers, 400 volunteer helpers and 75 Breast Cancer Survivors. They all wear these crazy outfits and people hold signs that say "Knockout Knockers", "Yay 4 Boobies", "Save the Hooters" and I'm sure you get the point. It was funny, and my dad was embarrassed by all the "boob" talk.

The walk started at Bellevue Community College (across the street from the Temple) and then ended right next to the Space Needle at Memorial Stadium. They camped out every night at different parks, and had to sleep on the ground in tiny tents. It was amazing to see all these people, women and MEN (who had a team called the Breastie Boys), who walked so we can find a cure for Breast Cancer. Here are some pics of the happenings....

This was right when the walkers entered the Stadium! This went on for a good 30 minutes.

Big Girl Bed

2008-09-14T20:54:00.000-07:00

Kalei is so nice and let me borrow her toddler bed for Payton, as Payton has been escaping out of her crib lately. I figured it was time! I put it together and Payton was SOO excited, she jumped right in it and said "night night". She absolutely loves it, which is AWESOME. Her first night was soo cute. I gave her kisses and left and I turned out the light. She watches a show before she goes to bed and so the light was right in her face, so she couldn't see me but I could definately see her. Right as the lights went out I had my head peeked in the room and she got the BIGGEST smile on her face, reached over and felt the ground, then lifted her hands up in the air and fell back and sighed LOUDLY. I was cracking up laughing. She loves bedtime.

Silver Lake

2008-09-14T20:49:00.001-07:00

Kalei and I took the kids to Silver Lake Park on Friday night and had a picnic there. The kids played and then we had sandwiches. It was fun.....so fun that we caught the kids playing in charcoal from a barebque. Nice huh? Yea Payton looked like a homeless child when we got done she was just a complete mess. Here are some pics of our night!

Tyler liked to help push Payton!

They played on a lot more things, these were just the times I remembered to take pictures.

Mukilteo Beach and Harley Davidson

2008-09-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

So since August was crappy weather we didn't get out to do a whole lot. Now that it is september it is deciding to warm up and more enjoyable to get outside. We took Payton to Mukilteo Beach Park, as it was brand new and she had never been there before. It was such a clear day that you could actually see the island super good. Anyways, here are some pictures from the park.

Okay so I know she totally looks like she was getting sick on this, but really I was putting her to sleep. It was funny!

I also made a trip to see Angela on her day off. Her and her husband just bought a Harely not that long ago and Jeremiah of course had to sit her on it. I just wish she was actually looking at the camera.

Chicken Pox?

2008-09-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Payton woke up the other day with these spots all over her. They looked really weird, kind of like misquito bites, some where huge and some were pretty small. It got me super worried because she had the vaccine for chicken pox, but there is still a chance you can get them. I called the dr. and they told me to bring her in right away and told me to tell the receptionist to take us to a back room.

So it turned out not being anything but a viral rash that could have been either from her nasty cold she had, or a reaction to her antibiotics, either way I have never heard of it coming on so late after being sick. But we were relieved as we didn't have to keep her away from everyone! They started disappearing pretty much the next day and look like bruises on her now. Weird! I didn't get any pictures because most of them were around her diaper area, and as modest as she is she wouldn't keep her pants down long enough :)!

TV Obessions

2008-09-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I know this is completely random but just thought I would see if I was really all that weird....

I am completely obsessed over these 2 shows and one of them just premiered last night. Am I really just stuck in high school and enjoy other people's drama, or am I normal and people have the same obsessions. Monday and Tuesday nights have become my favorite...here's why!

The Hills: I don't need to say much about this show! I get annoyed with people telling me how fake it is..blah blah blah! It is reality T.V. So pretty much you either love it or hate it! I happen to plan my life around it! HAHA! Not really....

The New 90210: Now I liked the orignal one but this was an amazing first episode and I recommend that if you missed it you need to figure out a way to watch it.

Mike even watched this one with me and said I will "pretend" I am interested. He was completey concentrated on it. Either he is a good actor, or he has the same weakness as I do! He even put down his computer to watch it!

It's been a long 3 weeks.....

2008-09-03T12:40:00.001-07:00

So I haven't updated since we got home from Hawaii! I have been super busy juggling my time between Mike and Payton, and trying to get over my bronchitis and getting rid of Payton's ear infections. It hasn't been easy and I have felt more worn out than I think I ever have in my entire life (seriously). So now that Payton is over her ear infections and her waking up several times in the night I feel a little more myself. Mike had his foot surgery on August 19th. We had to be in Seattle at 6:00am that morning at Swedish Hospital. Mike was supposed to go into surgery around 7:30am. Everything was going very well, but Mike was scared out of his mind. Who could blame him though, if you don't really know what to expect? So 7 hours passed (yes 7) of me waiting in the hospital for my beeper to go off letting me know he is waking up. So all in all the surgery went well and the Dr. didn't have to cut his heel bone which was good news because it will be a faster recovery. We didn't get home that night until about 7pm. It was such a long day, but good thing Mike wasn't having much pain and really hasn't since his surgery. He is healing very well with hardly any swelling and may be able to get his cast off in about 2 weeks, and return to work (if Boeing doesn't strike, cross your fingers...we are poor). So with that being said I have been in search for a job for quite a while now, and am coming up with nothing. The Real Estate Market is disappearing and so my job has been doing the same. So if anyone knows of anything, please throw it my way!! So that has been our lives for the past 3 weeks...exciting....we know!!! I have taken pictures of Mike's foot, so if you get sick please don't keep scrolling down! It doesn't look all that bad though!

Mike the morning of his surgery right before we walked out the door! He looks thrilled!!

This was just taken yesterday before his 3 week appt.

The stitches were ready to come out! This is the first time I saw it!

And of course here is Payton. She loves to dress up and take her purse and her baby and say bye bye. The hat is a new accessory for her! As you can see she is feeling MUCH better!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!

2008-08-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well I felt impressed to write and wish my most loving and darling wife a very happy anniversary. Since being layed up from having surgery a week ago we aren't really able to do anything to celebrate and I haven't really been able to plan for anything. So I thought the best way I could make her feel loved and appreciated and wish her the best for our third anniversary is to let everyone know how I feel about her.

I love it when... - you do all you can to make sure everything feels as right as can be.
The cutest thing you do is... - when you pretend you are super sexy but act like you are not even though I totally think you are.
The thing I regret most is.... - taking for granted the time we had together after we were first married.
You make me mad when... - you don't think very highly of yourself when I think you are the greatest and there is nothing wrong with you.
The best memory I have of us is... - the time we spent together making our first trip from Seattle to Arizona.
I love that little thing you do when... - you sing songs you really like so sweetly yet softly.
I cant stand it when you... - again think that you are not attractive or good looking when I know that you are.
If I could want anything for you it would be... - that you realize you are attractive and that you deserve the best in the world of anything.
I remember the day when... - we first saw each other and couldn't wait to be close.
The day we first kissed... - was the day I felt I found someone who really loved me.
When we first met... - I thought I was being messed with and you weren't serious about what you thought about me.
When we first touched... - I felt the most amazing sensation and feeling of happiness I had never felt before.
Your best physical feature is... - your face. Everything about your glow and how you do your make up makes you look so gorgious. Even without makeup you look so cute.
When you get mad... - you say a lot of things to be hurtful even though you don't mean them.
Even though we may argue at times... - I know we love each other and wouldn't want anything to happen to split up our family.
I love you even when... - try and be so antaganistic and annoying.
You turn me on when... - you're just out of the shower and have just finished your hair and makeup and have the amazing glow on your body.
I do appologize for that time when... - well it should be for the times when I don't think about what I'm saying and act really rude.
You should stay with me because... - I haven't felt such feelings for anyone before and I think we work so well together when we aren't fighting.
A song that reminds me of us is... - God Bless The Broken Road because it was our wedding song and it truly says I feel we came together.
Something that I've never told you is... - I would think that I usually tell you everything.
What I love about you the most is... - You are so easy going and feel that things shouldn't be such a big deal and we should just be happy as much as possible.
Three words thats describe you are... - Brave, loyal, and trustworthy.

Kauai, HI

2008-08-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

We left on August 5th and got home late last night August 12th. Hawaii was so beautiful and a lot of fun. We did a ton of sightseeing and going to different beaches. We snorkled and saw sea turtles and a lot of bright colorful tropical fish. We drove as far as you can around the entire island, to check out all the amazing sights. We saw where they filmed South Pacific (I personally have no idea what movie this is but it was important to Audrey, she even started singin and dancing at the scene). We saw a ton of waterfalls, roosters and chickens, beaches and drove up into a huge Canyon that took about 40 minutes to get to. We ate some amazing food while we were there and gained a few pounds. We attended Jared's wedding (my brother) on August 8th, 2008 on the beach of the Kauai Marriot Resort. We bought some cool souveniers and plan to go back ASAP :)! We took a lot of pictures so here they are!

On the Airplane ride there! We got lucky and has an extra seat for Payton. It was a lifesaver.You can kind of see the Island right under the wing.

First day on the beach and Payton Loved the sand.

This is called the Spouting Horn.

My mom in her snorkel gear. HAHA

We went to a Luau that was really cool and we had some AMAZING food.

There was a rainbow that showed up when we were at the Luau

All of us except Jen at the Luau. Waiting for the show to start

Jared got brought up on stage to dance with the girls. He was sooo embarrassed.

Work it Jared.

Updates

2008-07-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a little over 2 weeks. There just hasn't really been anything overly exciting to post about, but I will update you the last 2 weeks.

Ever since High School I had wanted to go to hair school. It just seemed like it wasn't the right time for me, until the other day.....I talked to Mike and I threw out the idea that if I don't go now I may never get the chance. So we decided that I should go and get it done. I explored a few schools and decided on a Paul Mitchell Partner School. I am soo excited. I am not starting until November 4th because we have many vacations coming up and I don't want to miss any schooling. So there it is! And to top it off I am working towards getting my Loan Officer License. I figure I will always have a back up plan...Medical Billing and Claims, Loan Processing, Loan Originator and Hair! Nice huh?

Mike has just been working and working and working and working :)!! We are getting our debt paid off though so it all works out. He is also doing his online classes through BYU! It is nice that he works at Boeing because they pay 100% of his tuition and books. We are going to soak it up as long as we need to. Other than that Mike has been busy spending time with Payton and just recently installed a hard drive into my old laptop and so he has been busy getting it all set up.

Payton is getting SOOO big! She has been in the terrible 2's far sooner than I hoped for. She is a lot of work and keeps us all on our toes. For example, she LOVES yogurt and has to have some pretty much everyday (several times). She eats it and then uses it as lotion and covers her arms, face, and hair in this stuff and it ends up being a ton of work in the end. She yells NO at me all the time when I ask her to do something, she even walks herself to timeout and will sit there for a little bit. It's kinda funny as she knows she is in trouble but makes things a little easier on me. She has a FULL mouth of teeth and likes to use them. She will find any skin on your body and bite down when she doesn't get her way or use her fingers to pinch you. I have such a nice child. I guess I should talk about the wonderful things she does as well, so everyone doesn't think she is the devil :).

She is probably the most friendly little girl ever. She says "Hi" to everyone and waves. She gives random strangers hugs especially the little boys. She is saying a lot more words to the point we can understand her. She is a great little blessing in our lives and I couldn't ask for anything more. We love her!

We have a lot more to do this week and probably will not post anything until we get back from Hawaii on August 12th. We will be taking a ton of pictures so stay tuned....

Feeding her baby! She does this everyday after she eats!

Her favorite place to be....Outside!

We put her up in bed and when we went and checked on her this is what we find. We laughed for a long time!!!

Austin, TX

2008-07-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

So I had the opportunity to go to Austin to check it out for Mike and I to move there. I took Payton along with me and Alyssa was also able to go. The Jones family live there and we had a ton of fun with them. They have been long time family friends and it was good to visit with them and see them again. I also work with Lindsey so it was good to get there and do work (we really didn't do any though) haha! It just so happened that I spent my birthday there. They decided to rent a boat and a jet ski and go out to Lake Travis for a few hours. We all had a blast. It was a ton of fun and the water was so nice! On our last day there we went to downtown so I could see the University. We also saw the Real World Austin House. We also saw some other random things. It was a nice city and enjoyed our time there. Thanks for everything guys!!!!!!

Here was the crew on the boat (minus a few people)

All of us in Lake Travis. It was so pretty!

Just hanging out riding around

Ben and Payton hanging out while in downtown

6th St. in downtown Austin.

I thought this was funny! This was near campus!

MTV's Real World Austin House!

Jetty Island

2008-07-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday July 9th we went to Jetty Island with Kalei and her kids, and Erin and her son Tristan. It was a super nice day and it was fun to go, as I haven't been there in years. The kids were able to walk out really far as it was low tide and it was going out further as we were there. They had fun making sand castles and playing in the sand. We also had to get on a little ferry that took us to the island. Payton wasn't so sure about this but it grew on her. We all got fried (except the kids of course). We all didn't think that we would get so burnt. I am actually still feeling the effects on my shoulders. We took a lot of pics so here are just a few.

Kari's Birthday!!!

2008-07-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

So today is Kari's birthday and I'm posting instead of her so to let everyone know so you can wish her a great one!!! She's been in Texas since Thursday the 10th and is having a fun time with friends on her birthday today. So I'm sure she'll be posting when she gets home to update everyone on all the exciting events. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETY!!!

Samantha's baptism and Emma's Blessing

2008-07-07T14:24:00.001-07:00

On top of being so busy on the 4th we had Samantha's baptism on Saturday. It was neat to see all of the kids so interested. It was a good experience for all of us! We had a lunch over at Jason and Audrey's aunt and uncles and we proceeded to eat MORE food. Mike and I specifically ate crab that was freshly caught in the puget sound the day before. You can't get much better than that! On Sunday we had Emma's blessing. Of course all of the family was there and a ton of cousins and Payton would not be good to save her life. We spent most of the hour taking her out and bringing her back in. She was screaming and hitting and biting. She has a big attitude, and I am lost on how to fix it. We then had another lunch at Jason and Audrey's house. We had tacos and apple pie. Nice mix huh? It was super good! We left a little early so Payton could go take a well needed nap. We pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing. We hope everyone had a great weekend as well.

4th Of July

2008-07-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

Wow this has been a crazy weekend for us. We started the 4th off by going to a ward breakfast at Lowell Park. We were cooked pancakes, ham, eggs and some hot chocolate. Mike had never bought fireworks or even lit them off before so I took him to a firework stand and we bought a few things. He was so excited about even the Smoke Bombs. It was kinda funny. He is my little nerd that has been deprived all his life! We then went over to Jason and Audrey's house (My Brother and My sister in Law) to have a BBQ and watch fireworks. We had SOO much food it was disgusting. It seems like most holidays are filled with eating! Nathan (Audrey's brother) and Mike had a blast lighting off fireworks the entire time. They had some M-80's that shook the house and made all of our ears ring for quite awhile. Payton on the other hand wanted NOTHING to do with the big bangs that she wouldn't even go outside. Mike got a hole in his nice golf shirt and even burnt his finger. I guess that's what he gets for being a first timer right? After all the loud stuff was done, Payton decided to make her appearance and actually held a sparkler. Mike helped her! She had no facial expression and I'm sure she thought it must explode because everything else does. So since it doesn't get dark until like 10:00 pm here, it seemed like we were waiting forever to see the good fireworks. Payton was about to lose it but I sat her on the grass with me as we watched all around us and the show that Nathan and Mike put on for us. She was doing good until a firwork that was in the middle of going off tipped over and part of it flew in Jason and Audrey's garage and almost came right on top of us. Kinda scarey but nobody was hurt except a Golf bag. It was a fun day but very exhausting. Hope everyone had a good 4th.

You can't see the burn on his finger but you can see the white spec on his shirt.

Willis Tucker Park

2008-07-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

It was a nice day again and I wanted to try out the new water park that is really like 1 mile from the house. I called up my friend Kalei and her kids to see if they wanted to come. Of course they did and we headed to the park. It took Payton FOREVER to get in! I finally started walking around with her and she jumped right in and started playing with the smaller water things. Here are a few pics of her! She had fun and I hope to go back soon!!

Summer...Finally

2008-06-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

It has been amazing weather all week. It finally is starting to feel like summer! About time right? We got out the pool for Payton again and thought I would post the pictures we took. I also took a video. It was in the high 80's low 90's. Nice weather! We are crossing our fingers that we get more days like this!!! She had more fun this time and stayed in it longer. It was freezing cold so we had to put hot tub water in to it. It made it a little more bareable! She loves water!

Mike and I

2008-06-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

Since I am so post happy tonight I might as well go all out and put an updated picture of Mike and I on here. We can not take a serious picture worth crap......we were having fun with it.

Random

2008-06-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

I was feeling picture happy today and EVERYTIME I get out the camera Payton will not just look at it and smile. She goes nuts and runs around everywhere. These are the pictures I got of her today. Enjoy!

Hello?

I was getting her ready to go on a walk with my mom and so I was doing her hair...it is getting so long and I couldn't help but take a picture! It is so darn cute!

Bye Bye Jetta

2008-06-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

Since I don't drive my car a whole lot anymore, we thought in order to save money and to pay off more of our debt it would be a good idea to try selling my car. I love my car and I didn't really want to sell it, but I guess it is what it is......

It was a coincidence that the person I sold it to, I actually watched his 2 kids when Payton was just born. I never really talked to him but maybe 3 times because their mom was always the person who picked them up or dropped them off. I didn't know it was him until he showed up! Kinda weird! He made us an offer right there which was nice. He then came the next morning with the money and it was a done deal!

I will miss that car!!

Diapers

2008-06-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

While I am working and Payton needs to be changed I usually ask her to go upstairs to get a diaper. It usually only takes her 2 minutes to get the diaper and wipes and come down. Well this time she was taking a VERY long time. I walked upstairs and found her on the bed trying to put on the diaper. It was probably the funniest thing ever. I tried getting as many pictures as possible. But of course she knew I was there and gets camera shy.

Potty Training

2008-06-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

I have a dilema and need some help. I got Payton to go potty on the potty chair when she was about 14 months old. She was doing so good and I thought to myself "this is cake". I would ask her if she had to go potty or poop and she would say yes and run to the bathroom and sit down and actually go. She did this for about 1 month straight, and ever since I can not get her to go on it to save my life. She gets all freaked out and runs out screaming and saying "no no no". I do not know what changed this for her! We even got her an Elmo potty video that she loves to watch, and likes to watch other people go, but just won't do it herself. PLEASE help if you have any ideas! We would appreciate it so much!!

Father's Day

2008-06-24T23:35:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted for a few days so I thought it is better late than never. We had a good father's day! Mike is such a great father and husband. He has taught me a lot and he is a great blessing in my life. Payton adores him and loves climbing all over him and tickleing him and cuddeling in bed with him in the middle of the night. She is definately a daddy's girl, and has him wrapped around her finger. I had bought Mike some Oakley Sunglasses and a gift card to get more clothes for our trip to Hawaii in August. We also had a Jason and Audrey and all the girls over for a BBQ. We had hamburgers and hotdogs. I think Mike and Jason enjoyed it. My dad was in New Mexico working so he was unable to be with us, but we did send him homemade cookies and cards. It was a fun day!

I asked Mike to give me a good smile and this is what he gives me! Happy Fathers Day :)!

This is the most recent pic of Payton and Mike that I have! They are both sick in the picture so they don't look all that normal!

Payton loves to read, this was her on Father's Day reading everyone a book.

Sick

2008-06-12T16:50:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 days Payton has woken up and puked all over the place. She has never done this before so it is kind of freaking her out. She starts shaking and then kind of a whiney cry. It's so sad because I can't do anything to make it stop. I called the Dr. today and he told me just to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated, but that there was nothing that they can do for her. She just isn't herself. I am starting to not feel so well either today so hopefully I'm not catching it. I am thinking Payton got sick from Nursery. I swear parents take their children their no matter if they are coughing, have pink eye....you get the point. It's rediculous. Anyways, thats just my update for you on our happenings this week. Oh and on top of it all today is the nicest it has been in like WEEKS. It is a little depressing that Payton needs to stay inside and rest. I'm sure we will have more times to play though.

Baby Sisco

2008-06-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know Audrey (my sister in law) was pregnant with her 4th child. She was due on Sunday and we were all anxious for her to have the baby because none of us knew what she was having. Well today I got an email from my mom while she was at work telling us not to make plans. Audrey has home births and her mom is the mid-wife and so I thought well let me know when Charlene (her mom) gets there because then we are talking business. It came around 6:30pm and my mom called us at the house asking us to come and get the girls and take them home. Audrey has a pool that she has the baby in. It is quite interesting, but I don't think I could ever be that strong. So Alyssa and I ran over and got the girls, they were just filling up the pool with water and getting blankets and everything out. Definately didn't feel normal to me because I have never seen such a thing before.

So I round up the girls to leave as I think they were more excited to maybe have a sleepover than anything. We first went over to their Grandma Jenkins house to get the Wii to keep them entertained, and I stopped at McDonalds and got them each a cheeseburger. We got to the house and we play Mario Kart and some princess one. I called my mom's cell phone around 8:28pm to just check the progression and see if I was going to have a long night as well. My mom didn't answer her cell phone. So I figured something was up. The phone then rang about 10 minutes later and it was Jason (my brother) and wanted me to put the phone on speaker so that he could talk to the girls. He then proceeded to tell them that the baby was just born and wanted them to guess what it was. They all yelled "A BOY", and he said "Try again", there mouths dropped wide open. He told us we could then start heading over in an hour. When I hung up the phone the girls were all whiney and saying "Man another girl, they are annoying and this just isn't going to work". It was mostly Samantha their 8year old whining. We then got ready and headed over. They have not yet named the baby because they had all thought it was a boy and they were going to name him Spencer. Since that wasn't the case the baby is nameless. The girls came up with a ton of names. Kaitlyn had suggested Zoe, Samantha suggested Stephanie and Lauren said Sarah. We will see if they pick any of those.

Baby Sisco is a WHOPPING 11 lbs 11 oz. CRAZY! She has a full head of black hair. She is a chubby little thing that is very precious. Enjoy the pictures.

Utah Wedding

2008-06-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Mike got to go to Salt Lake for his best friend Garrett's wedding. Mike and him have been best friends for years and havent seen each other for at least 4-5 years. He was really excited to see him and his family. He had a great time even though he was only there for about 2 days. This was the first time Mike had been away before and Payton really missed him. Mike was the best man and Garrett and Kylie got married in the Bountiful Temple.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding and reception.

He did a little site seeing with them on his last day there as well. They went and saw The Joseph Smith movie and walked through Temple Square for awhile.

2008-05-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was super bored today while Payton was taking a nap. I'm sure I could have been doing something more productive but oh well.
82 words

Speed test

You should try it!! It's kind of addicting. Have fun!!!

New Car, Dog Sitting and BBQ's

2008-05-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning we purchased a new car and traded in Mike's. We got a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee. We love it. I took some pictures. Although they aren't the best because it was about 9:30 pm when I took them and it was starting to get dark.

Friday night we watched my brother and his fiance' Cydney's dog's while they went out of town. I thought it would be relaxing and we could just enjoy it but it ended up being a ton of work and we are all worn out. We only had to do it for two nights but it was definately not a quiet weekend. They have two dogs. One is a Chihuhua name Mojito and the other is an Enlish Bulldog and her name is Twinkie. Since we had to get rid of Scooter (our chihuhua) a while back I forgot everything that had to be done, let alone the dog hair that is all over EVERYTHING and the smell of them and Twinkie's slobbering mouth that makes you all sticky and wet. They have been remodeling their house and so with Payton there and making sure she doesn't get hurt falling off the steep stairs or touching stuff was just way too much. They didn't have a baby proof house all that well. Payton did enjoy playing with the dog's. Twinkie loves Payton and licks her all over her face and can take the rough grabs, slaps and beatings that Payton puts on her. Mojito on the other was scared to death of her and didn't know too much about getting all that close. Here are a few pictures. I took a lot this weekend.

This is the view from the house. It looks out in the Puget Sound and downtown Everett is on the right hand side with the Navy Base. Mt. Baker is the mountain. So pretty. Whidbey Island is on the left.

MOJITO

TWINKIE (kinda blurry) she kept moving her head.

Playing on the stairs. There are no railings and she loves stairs. It wasn't a very good combo.

On the ground playing with Twinkie.

Here is a shot of all of us. This pictures explains why there aren't many of me!!

We were getting ready after our shower and Payton was dancing for herself in the mirror. It was so cute!!

We were getting ready to go to Costco and she was prancing around like she was all that with her sunglasses and new outfit.

Sunday Night we went to a BBQ at Jason and Audrey's house. We had steak, potatos, asparagus, brocolli salad, and brownies for dessert. It was yummy. I love going over there because Payton stays entertained by the girls the entire time except for when they pick her up. She doesn't like being picked up by kids.

They dragged her all over the yard in this thing for a long time. It did tip over a few times and she was done after that. They just love her.

So that was our funfilled weekend. We don't really know what we are doing for Memorial Day tomorrow but if it is nice I suggested we go to the beach. Mike wants to go see Indiana Jones. We will see. Maybe we will do both! Hope everyone has a good day!!!

Surgery and Nice Weather

2008-05-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

I had my nasal and ear surgery last week. I can finally hear again. I lost my hearing when I first got pregnant with Payton and it has never really ever come back. It's amazing what all I can hear, we will just see how long I can keep it that way.

So my recovering days were quite miserable. It was gorgeous outside, I was stuck inside with an 18 month old monster, drugged, with absolutely NO help. My mother had gone out of town the day before my surgery, my sister who had promised would be around made plans to go and hang out with friends, and Mike was working outrageous hours. So I guess you could say I was pretty depressed. So these past few days have been a little rough for me. But with all the chaos that was going on I managed to go outside and sit there while Payton ran around screaming and chasing butterflies, singing "I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee" and playing with all of grandma's plants.

This pretty much wore her out with the heat, that she was whining at the door to go back in. So I was a happy camper as that meant nap time for both of us. She slept for about 3 hours, and I couldn't have been happier.

On Sunday Mike had the day off, so he stayed home from church with me so he could help me if I needed anything. It was pretty hot again and so we decided that we would let Payton enjoy it again. Mike filled up the pool on the deck and he poured water from the hot tub to make it a little more of a reasonable temperature and had Payton play in it. She loved it and I was so greatful for him being home so that I could rest. We lathered her up with sunscreen but she must of thought it was whipped cream or something because she decided to eat it. Pretty gross, but it didn't phase her at all.

I will never get a her a bathing suite like this again. The straps are constantly falling off. She has narrow little shoulders.

My little sunbathing babe!

Woodland Park Zoo

2008-04-26T21:43:00.001-07:00

It was such a nice day today and since Mike didn't have to work we decided we would go to the zoo. Payton didn't really know what to think, but she did kind of get scared a little bit with some of the animals. It was a fun day and we all had a good time.Mike was trying to show Payton a monkey that was in the trees. It was so cute! She was actually interested and was looking for the little guy and got excited when she actually was able to see him.

These guys were huge and fun to watch. All of a sudden they got up really quick and walked out of the little den area they were in. I thought it was a good picture.

So Payton is obsessed with this doll. So the baby had to come with us too. A few times a gave some people a little scare. She had dropped it and here I am rolling it over with the stroller and people around are getting freaked out saying "YOUR BABY"...as if it were real! It gave us a few laughs!

So cute isn't it? Payton was trying to sprint and almost biffed it a few times. She just started this hand holding business. I think it is adorable.

Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift

2008-04-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

So Mike and I finally got to go out for a few hours and have fun. On April 5th we went to the Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift Concert in Tacoma. We had a blast. We went to Red Lobster before because Mike had never eaten there. He got steak and lobster tail which was yummy. We got to the concert and I really have never seen so many guys at this kind of concert before. We went last year and Mike loved it as he was surrounded by woman :). But this year was different I'm not sure if it was because Taylor Swift was opening or what but I was shocked. These guys are amazing and Taylor was a lot of fun to watch. She is a country girl that likes to rock. If you aren't a fan go to one of their concerts and I can almost guarantee you will leave a happy camper.

Bath Time

2008-04-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Payton loves her baths. The other day Mike gave her a bath and was in there for a good 45 minutes. Usually when she starts getting cranky and won't lay down for a nap right away, I will give her a bath and take my laptop and sit there with her. It is kind of a nice thing for me to relax and get some work done without her running around everywhere getting into trouble.

Something New

2008-04-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

So I have never really "blogged" before, but I figured that it would be kind of a fun way to keep people in the loop on our EXCITING lives. Here is a summary of all that is happening these days. I will post some pictures soon and get more on here. Enjoy!!

Mike - He is still working at Boeing and is working 10 hour days along with weekends. He is a machanic on the 777 doing wing structures. He has finished 3 classes through the University of Pheonix, to obtain a degree in IT, but has always had his heart set on being an Athletic Trainer and so he is looking into taking some classes through the Distant Learning Program that BYU offers. He has been suffering from major pain in his foot ever since we have lived here. He has been to the Dr. and they advised that due to being flat footed this has occured. In order to fix the problem they will have to perform a major surgery to fuse bones together and make it comfortable to walk again. We don't know exactly when this will happen but hopefully within the next year.

Payton - She is now 18 months old and is growing up so fast. She has a pretty big temper when she doesn't get her way. But is now realizing that timeout is not a fun place to be. She loves dogs and babies. She has made a few boys at church a little angry because she thinks all kids are babies. So she will point and say "baby" and usually it is only to boys around the age of 4ish. They then turn to their parents and almost start crying. I think it is pretty funny but the parents probably wish I were dead. Payton says a lot of words these days such as bye bye, mommy, papa, doggy, happy, hi, and yes. She knows a lot of sign language too like please, thank-you, milk, and finished. She loves to watch TV and her favorite things to watch are Elmo and a show called The Backyardigans. She likes going for walks and going to the park so hopefully this summer will be nice.

Me - I am now working at home doing loan processing. My friend from Austin, TX owns the business and so I process the loans with her. I love it and wish I had started with her a long time ago. I am also doing a certificate program for Medical Claims and Billing. I just to have to do my final and I will be finished. So I'm really excited as it gives me income when the Real Estate Market is down. I also get to stay home with Payton and I get to see Mike a whole lot more. Ever since I got pregnant with Payton I have had a lot of ear problems. I finally went back to the specialists this week and found out that I have to have surgery to correct it. They will be putting tubes in my ears for the 4th time and doing a biospy on a growth that they have found. They will also be correcting my deviated septum. I am having it all done on May 14th. I'm excited to hear again but nervous for the surgery itself.