Updates

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.