Weekly Happenings - 8/19 - 8/25

1.  Although last week was Peyton's first day of Pre-K/2nd year of preschool, it was spirit week at school so I waited until this week for the photo op!  Check-out this big girl.  I can't believe a year from now she will be starting kindergarten.  Holy cow!  Slow down, time!

2.  This week was a big prep week for Peyton's first soccer season!  She has been excited, nervous, anxious and excited again at different points in the week.  Then on Thursday night, she took a turn for the worse and spiked a high temperature.  She stayed home on Friday, started to feel better, then turned South again with another fever and an upset stomach.  Obviously, running around in 90+ degree heat was not in the cards for Ms. P on Saturday so we will wait a couple of weeks before her next game.  But in the meantime, she is all set with her new gear!

3.  Peyton had a great Saturday morning and really seemed to be turning the corner.  She then took a ~2 hour nap and woke-up with all kinds of energy so we decided to give the neighborhood block party a try!  Daddy was out of town for a golf tournament and Grammy & Grandpa had come up for a visit so P & I went to the party while Grammy & Grandpa to G-man out to eat.  Everyone had a great time!  The block party was awesome!  They had a huge water slide, lots of yummy food, games and the biggest surprise & treat - a cotton candy machine!  Peyton got to go down the slide a few times with a friend and had dinner with another friend.  We visited and played for about an hour before we came home - a short visit to the party was in order as I didn't want her to get too worn down.  We had a great time and hope everyone is healthy for the party next year!

4.  Grammy & Grandpa were also in town to celebrate Grandpa's birthday!  We continued last year's tradition by enjoying Sunday brunch, this year at Nick & Jake's, to celebrate.  The brunch did not disappoint.  I mean, how can you go wrong with the dessert selection that capped off our meal!

5.  After brunch, we enjoyed a quick dip in the pool before it got too hot.  Peyton continues to love the water and is truly a fish!  She jumps in, dives down to the bottom and is swimming further and further all the time.  Such a strong swimmer!  Garrison had a great time at the pool too - he loved throwing the ring in for Peyton go after and doing a little jumping and "swimming" himself.  I'm so thankful they love being in the water!!  After our swim, Peyton & I went and had our nails done.  Overall, we had a great weekend!!

Weekly Happenings - 8/12 - 8/18

1.  Milestone - Garrison can now count to 10 all on his own!  He does best when counting something in a book, like sheep in "Go to Sleep, Russell the Sheep."

2.  Milestone - Garrison knows his right foot from his left foot!  He may not be quite to 100% yet but is right more than he is wrong.

3.  On Friday, Chad & I went down to Table Rock Lake for a relaxing weekend on a houseboat!  We were there primarily to practice our scuba skills but had a great time meeting new friends and getting some sun to end-out summer!  Chad got in 4 dives, I completed two.  We went to ~50 feet a few times and even found an old hat and fishing pole at the bottom!  It was great to dive for fun instead of for our certifications and I was much more relaxed this time than on previous dives.  On Saturday we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before dinner that we followed-up with s'mores.  We had a fantastic weekend, here are just a few pictures!

4.  While we were away for the weekend, Peyton & Garrison got to spend "4 DAYS" as Peyton would say at their house (since we arrived Thursday night and left on Sunday).  She was very excited about this fact!  They stayed VERY busy while we were away and were exhausted on the way home. They took a trip to the aquatic center where both kiddos impressed the grandparents with their swim/water skills.  They went to a concert in the park (Garrison was more of a fan than Peyton) and had a great time.  They were treated to McDonalds for dinner one night and even for breakfast on Sunday morning.  Of course, Peyton told Grammy she wanted something specific but Grammy couldn't figure out what she wanted when she said she wanted a "mushroom."  So, Peyton got out of the car to point to what she wanted (only in a small town!), she wanted a "hashbrown."  Hilarious!!  They went to Church, played on the playground at church a couple of times - Peyton is getting quite good at going across the monkey bars.  They had lots of playtime at home too with Grandma Mintun and swimming in the pool at the house.  And of course, a visit to Grammy's wouldn't be complete without lots of cooking - octopus hot dogs, fruit pizza, "brookies" (brownie/cookies) and puppy chow!  I do believe a good time was had by all!  

Weekly Happenings - 8/5 - 8/11

Wow - this was quite a week / weekend!  I ended-up with over 25 great pictures but narrowed it down a bit for the blog - enjoy!

1.  On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to join a field trip with Peyton's class to the library!  It was great! We attended story time and then got a special tour of the library.  The kids were very well behaved and learned a lot.  Peyton's excited to go back soon!

2.  Then, on Wednesday, I got to go on another field trip - this time to one of her friends' horse barns!  The kids learned about how to take care of a horse, what horses eat, how they exercise and all kinds of fun things.  They even got to brush down Rebel, Audri's horse and feed him carrots (which he loved!). What a fun trip!

3.  Two nights this week we had some pretty loud storms so Peyton came down to our bed.  On Wednesday night/Thursday morning, however, it was not storming when she came down so I told her she needed to go to her own room.  She didn't want to go but she was not going to sleep in our bed.  She decided to sleep in the chair next to our bed.  Then at ~4:30, she woke me up again saying she was cold.  I told her there were plenty of blankets up in her room but still she decided to sleep in the chair!  When I went to bootcamp at 5:15, I did cover her up and she was still asleep in the chair when I got home around 6:30!

4.  Thursday was Peyton's "end of Summer" party at school.  Her class is getting split up into new classes for next year and one of her teachers is leaving the school so it was a bit more of a goodbye party as well.  Of course, I couldn't miss out and had a great time celebrating with Peyton & her friends!!

5.  Garrison is also moving up to his next class - big boy!  He hand delivered the card he made for Ms. Alexis and accompanied it with a big ol' kiss.  He really misses Ms. Alexis - thank goodness she is only a couple of classrooms away for quick visits!!

6.  Saturday morning, Peyton & I were up bright and early for her first 5K at Deanna Rose Farmstead!  She had wanted to run with me for quite some time and I thought this one would be perfect!  Although she was super pumped, she didn't last real long before she was "done" so she spent most of the walk/run on my back.  We finished the race in ~50 minutes - not too shabby with my 40 lb. backpack!  She had a great time and insists she is ready for her next race.  Maybe next time we will try 1-mile fun runs!!

7.  Later on Saturday we celebrated Kelli's bridal shower.  Peyton & Whitney were the big helpers of the day and not only helped her open presents but kept track of all of her bows too!  They also did gymnastics off to the side and tried to sneak away with their flower girl dresses to try them on at the restaurant.  Luckily, Grandma was willing to lend them a helping hand.  I must say, they will be adorable!

 8.  While we were at the bridal shower, Garrison & Daddy went to the store to pick-up some goodies for dinner - hot dogs and the makings for s'mores!  Daddy built a great fire and we cooked and enjoyed our dinner outside.  We also spent lots of time out on the playset - it was a GREAT family evening!

9.  On Sunday, we went to church early and then Daddy needed to get some painting done so the kids & I made our way to Deanna Rose.  It is so great how close we live now - so easy to run there even for a couple of hours.  We visited the barn, lots of animals and spent lots of time on the slides and play sets around the farm.  We even stopped for ice cream at 10:30 in the morning - wow, the kids really thought that was a treat!!  We had a great morning!!

10.  After a quick lunch, Garrison was off to his nap so Peyton & I loaded-up the car and went to the theater to see Planes!  Piocano even got to join us.  I told Peyton she could pick any treat, she chose Twizzlers and couldn't wait to get them open.  She kept saying, "just one more before the movie starts."  About 4-5 Twizzlers later, the movie started!  But my little girl was tired from our big week / weekend and ended-up falling asleep for the last 30 minutes or so.  That's ok - I enjoyed the movie while cuddling with my favorite girl in the world!

Weekly Happenings - 7/29 - 8/4

1.  Happy Birthday Garrison!!  Although we celebrated on Sunday, Mr. Garrison turned 2 on Monday. One of his highlights - taking more cupcakes to school to share with his friends!  And what is a birthday without a picture with Mickey! :)  He is getting SO big compared to Mickey.  You've come a long way buddy!

2.  Garrison at 2:

Favorite Food - Mac & Cheese and Pancakes (but you will eat just about everything!)

Favorite Words:  Lots of them - No, no, no, no, NOOOO!  Right now, you like to just use the last syllable of a word instead of the whole thing - but you get your point across!

Favorite Character:  Mickey, definitely Mickey

Favorite Drink:  Milk

Favorite Toy:  Anything Mickey

Favorite Song:  You are my Sunshine & Wheels on the Bus

Favorite Book:  There's a Wocket in my Pocket, Dragon in a Wagon & Pajama Time

Mr. is growing so fast and really becoming his own person (and very independent!).  I am amazed at how much he has grown over the last year and can't wait to see what the next year brings!

3.  On Friday, the kids & I had a quick dinner at home and since it was a nice night, we loaded Garrison into the stroller and took a walk down to Sonic!  It wasn't a short walk for Peyton but she did a great job.  Obviously, they enjoyed their molten lava cake ice cream sundae and were troopers for the walk home too!

4.  Daddy had a golf tournament this weekend so we kept ourselves VERY busy!  Saturday morning, Grammy came up to visit and we went to the mall.  Peyton had a little spending money and wanted to shop.  That, and she needed some new shoes too!  After pouring over the American Girl store for quite some time, she picked-out the bath tub to buy for Piocano.  She then wanted to go to the book store.  The kids both loved the book store and tried several out before picking out a few to take home with us! We enjoyed lunch at the mall and a ride on the carousel (oh, and ice cream!) before heading home for rest time.  Mr. was very tired so we had to sing the whole way home so he wouldn't go to sleep!  Never have I come-up with as many verses as I did for the Wheels on the Bus on the way home!  

While G was napping, Grammy & Peyton went to the pool and played for a long time before we joined them.  We then wrapped-up our day with a trip to McDonald's.  Peyton LOVES to eat there - I think it is because she can usually talk us in to ice cream at the end of the meal!  Garrison was finished early and entertained himself by running back and forth to the trash cans throwing everything from our meal away, one piece at a time!  He was so proud!!

Sunday morning brought lots of rain but we didn't let it slow us down.  Peyton taught Garrison, and then Grammy, how to play Princess Yahtzee.  Peyton was very patient with Garrison and they played so well together!  Then we packed-up and went to Deanna Rose.  After watching the cow get milked, feeding the calf and then a visit to the bank, we decided the rain just wasn't going to let up so we left.  We enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden and then Peyton & I got our nails done while Garrison napped with Grammy!  Last, but not least, Peyton and Grammy built a great fort in the living room and gave Piocano her 4th bath since Saturday afternoon!  Then it was time for Grammy to go home.  We had a great time - lots of giggles!

5.  Daddy, well, he WON his golf tournament!  Peyton was so very excited that he won that she made him a sign saying "Congratulations Daddy" for him to see when he got home!  I even overheard her saying to Garrison, "you know, Daddy won a trophy today" a few times - so cute!  Indeed, congratulations Daddy - great job!!  We even went out to dinner to celebrate - yum!!

6.  Let's just say, this little man knows how to relax.  He sat here, not moving for at least 20 minutes one night this week.