Photos of Peyton

Here are some random photos of Peyton that I thought everyone could enjoy! Happy New Year! The last photo I turned right-side-up twice in my photos but whenever I upload it, it turns itself back around! Any suggestions?? They were all taken in Kauai. The first one is after the beach trip, the second is of her very first ice cream cone, and the third one is on our last day.

Shopping wears me out!

Yesterday Peyton fell asleep in her stroller at Pier 1. It was too funny so I had to share! She was awake and shopping with my sister and I, then 2 seconds later she was passed out. She woke up with a huge circle on her face from sleeping on her cup holder.

By request

Per your request, Dad, here are more Christmas photos of Peyton.

Christmas 2007

Christmas has come and gone on a whim, but it was a fantastic one this year! We got to spend time with each one of our families at different times during the day; and we spoke to relatives and family far away as well. Peyton had a great time opening gifts and playing with each new thing. Of course, she was spoiled by all members of our family. But, she is still playing with each new toy and loving every thing she received! I thought that I should post some pictures for all to see her first interactive Christmas. Last year, she woke up watched the lights on the tree and then went to sleep in her bouncy seat for most of the day. We were glad that this year was more eventful. We hope that all of you had a very Merry and blessed Christmas this year!

Hi ho, hi ho

It's back to church we go! Enough is enough I have told myself over the past week. When we purchased our home over 2 years ago, one of the biggest selling points for us was that it is within walking distance of "our" church. Guess how many times in the past 2 years we have actually made time to go to a place that we call "ours"?? 2. Yep that's right only 2. Pretty pathetic huh? We have made a commitment to one another (and to our friends) that we will be attending service this weekend. Ironically enough, it happens to be Christmas time. So yes, we are those people...the ones that only attend at Easter and Christmas. The time has come to get back into swing of things. I feel like this week has been incredibly revealing in terms of God's timing being the perfect kick in the booty for us. So, this is my accountability-we will see many of you in church this weekend. We haven't decided on the Saturday night service, or Sunday morning but we will see you. We will also see you next Sunday in parenting class, and in service from here on out!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We finally have a Christmas tree in our house!! We decided to wait until we got home from Hawaii to put one up, and knew that we wouldn't have time to cut one down this year; so with much hesitation from Micah, we bought one from a local tree farm. It is the fatest, fullest tree I could find instead of the typical "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree that we typically find in the Oregon forrest. Peyton helped decorate the tree by tangling herself all up in the lights. She has been good so far about not pulling things off of the tree or trying to play in the tree, which is a huge surprise! Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Sad, but good

Today, Peyton and I said goodbye (for now) to a family that we adore. The Crawfords (you can check their blog at www.5crawfords.blogspot.com) left today for Africa for 2 years to complete a mission through Engineering Ministries International. It was very sad to see them go, as we have known them for many years, and our children get to play together regularly. We wish them safe travels in their journeys and hope that they return to Medford safely when their work is done!

Rain, rain, GO AWAY!!

Sorry that I didn't post anything for the remainder of the time we were in Kauai...for those of you religiously checking our blog I apologize; but the internet was tempermental to say the least due to weather on the island. Here is the update: it rained literally from the time I posted the beach photos until the time we left on Monday at 10:00 p.m. I'm not talking sprinkling rain...I'm talking pouring sheets of tropical showers soaking us to the core. Each day we woke up with the sun peeking through the clouds, we crossed our fingers, put our bathing suits on under our clothes, prayed for sunshine, then headed back to the room an hour later to change out of our swim suits after the clouds defeated the sun :( This is not to say that the rest of our trip wasn't fantastic b/c afterall, we were in Kauai!! We did a lot of indoor activities (attended a local craft fair, went to several shopping malls, drove to checkout scenic places that we had hoped to hike to, etc). We are back at home now, and although it is FREEZING (I think the temperature when we landed today was 26 degrees) at least it is not raining! I am looking forward to a few dry days even if they are chilly ones :)

Kauai Luau

Tonight, we went to a luau at the Grand Hyatt Resort. We picked this luau over others b/c it is typically held on the beach. However, the weather pattern here has been sunny and perfect during the day, and around 3:00 p.m. the clouds and rain roll in. Needless to say, the luau was held indoors. It was the typical Hawaiian luau with great dancers, great food, and great fun. At the luau we fed Peyton poi, the traditional Hawaiian starch. If you have never had poi before those who have tried it once, don't give it a second try. It tastes like paste (don't act like you don't know that taste, we all secretly ate it in elementary school once or twice) and has the consistency of runny wallpaper paste.

Here is my cheesy mastercard breakdown:

1. Tickets to luau for 2 adults and 1 child= $140.00

2. Gas to drive to other side of the island for luau= $5.00

3. Tip for waiter at the luau= $7.00

4. Watching your daughter taste poi for the first time= priceless

I have enclosed the photos for everyone to enjoy/laugh as hard as I did in the moment.

Peyton's first trip to the beach

Today was the perfect day for a beach day! With sunscreen, rice mats, towels, and sand toys in tote we made the short walk to our closest beach. We have taught Peyton how to say "beach," and that's all she could talk about when the ocean was in sight. We loaded her up with sunscreen and dipped her toes in the sand and water. She LOVED it! She did not, however, love the sand anywhere else on her body. At first we thought that the beach was going to be meltdown city because of the sand, but then we realized we could use it to our advantage. We placed Peyton at the edge of a rice mat with her sand toys and sand easily accessible. Then, Micah and I were able to play with her from the comfort of our beach chairs where we soaked up the sun. The thought of crawling off of the mat into the sand never crossed her mind...or at least if it did she never acted on it. She ate lots of sand and salt water, and created beautiful artwork in the sand; then she fell asleep on daddy's chest listening to the waves crash on the shore. If the sight of the Kauai ocean, palm trees blowing in the wind, and your little one snuggled up in daddy's arms sound asleep isn't enough to make you feel blessed I don't know what is. It truely was a perfect afternoon.

Kauai: Day 1

Our first day here was great (naturally, we are in Kauai...what else would it be?) We were treated to a beautiful morning with a slight ocean breeze, sunshine, and 80 degree temperatures. We ate breakfast at Eggberts, our favorite breakfast place on the island. Peyton loved to watch the birds fly in and out of the open air restaurant. It was so cute to watch her laugh when the birds came up to her, then stick her bottom lip out and almost burst into tears when they hopped off. The only thing that kept her content was that birds were coming in from all directions so as long as we could distract her from the leaving birds, we were in good shape. After breakfast, we met up with Jed and Kelly and headed to Wimea Canyon (pretty much like the Grand Canyon of Kauai). We didn't get to see it last time we were here so we were excited for something new. On the way to the Canyon, our luck with the weather quickly changed and we were soaking wet and very cold. The museum and restaurant near the canyon were both without power, so there was not much we could do to get warm. We tried to view the canyon, but no luck...all you could see was a big blanket of fog covering the top. Oh well, off to the Kauai Coffee Company, which was on the way back to our hotel. We sipped lots of yummy coffee, which made up for the chill; but once outside on the way to the car we got absolutely DUMPED ON! 2 huge sheets of rain happened to come down right on top of us. The 4 of us couldn't help but laugh as we got into the car, looking fresh out of a shower, and instantly the rain stopped! Then, we hung out in the coconut marketplace for a little while, and walked to Kintaro (a Japanese steakhouse) for dinner.

What a big girl

Our trip to Kauai was fantastic, considering we were traveling with a 15 month old on an almost 7 hour flight. She was such a good baby. She played, slept, ate, and made lots of new friends on our flight from Seattle to Kauai. When we finally got here, we were surprised with high winds, and warm weather, and NO RAIN!! Many of you know that we were expecting it to rain every day here b/c of the gloomy forcast. I tried to take a picture of the sign in the Lihue airport, but the humidity in the air made it very foggy. I have posted the picture anyway b/c I was extatic, of course, to see the sign again. After we got into our rental car and headed to our hotel, we heard a flash flood warning come over the radio, compliments of the emergency broadcast system. Great...looks like the weather men were right for once :)