Dear Grandma,

Dear Grandma(s),

My mommy has been SUPER busy lately and really dropped the "capture every milestone" ball... it's probably hiding somewhere under mounds of tulle! But not to worry, it looks like she's finally caught up with the craziness, and all of the Halloween costumes (307 to be exact) are in the hands of their rightful owners rather than decorating our now less than colorful home. But it's okay, because although I enjoyed looking at the vibrant colors, it always made me sad when mommy told me I couldn't eat her hard work.. :( What's up with that?!

Alas, I have been growing like CRAZY - sitting up, crawling, and even starting to eat small finger foods! Can you believe I am 6 1/2 months old now?! As for my siblings, about a month ago Bailey decided she was big enough for no training wheels. She's doing GREAT and looks way bigger than mommy and daddy would like her to be! I guess it made Hunter want to be big too, because he finally showed interest in his bike and is riding like a pro (with training wheels to his dismay)! This makes Landon happy, since he now has the push car all to himself! Anyways, mommy pulled out the camera to capture the sweet moment of Bailey showing Hunter how to pedal on his bike around the cul-de-sac. She got some really great shots, but you'll never see them... you see, she came out to play with us and put her camera on top of her car! I guess she's been so busy that she's been forgetting things and left it up there. Errands had to be run of course, (we eat a LOT over here!), and we haven't seen our lovely camera since! :(

Today, I guess mommy couldn't take it anymore because she got out her old junky camera (which she despises!) so she could get a cute picture of me before I decide to start walking.. it's not fantastic quality, but, I guess it'll do until daddy buys mommy a new camera for Christmas... ;)

Love you!

Love, Peyton :)

Howdy Partner!

A HUGE THANK YOU to the Johnson family for hosting their AWESOME Barbn Dance last night! It was so much fun mixing and mingling with good friends, and making new ones too! :)

My kids LOVED their horses! I can't imagine how big a full grown horse must seem to a child!

Even Peyton was able to get up close and personal with the mighty beasts! I hope all my kids will love horses as much as their mom! Brandon promised me a horse someday.. I told Bailey (who also LOVE them) and between the two of us, I don't think he'll get off the hook that easy! ;)

The Johnson's hired a man to teach square dancing to everyone who wanted to learn. Bailey and Brandon had a BLAST dancing together (even though it was CRAZY hot!).

Before we headed out, we attempted a family shot... this is as good as it was gonna get!

We had such a blast, and made some great memories! It's times like these that you just want to last forever!!! :)

The New "Big Man" on Campus!

Can Hunter really be THREE?! My word where has the time gone?! If he wakes up tomorrow and wants to start dating, I think I just might kill over! Serisouly though, I have been SO blessed with this adorable kid! He is so sweet and sensitive.. my little lovey boy! :) Only his face could win me over to the point that I would purchase homes for his BUGS for his birthday!

In case you didn't know, I love all God's creatures.. truly, I do. But there are certain creatures that are meant to stay OUTSIDE, and not interact with mankind. That being said, Hunter LOVES bugs! A while back I gave my kids jars to collect their bugs in. I vividly remember cleaning my kitchen when Bailey came running up:

"Mommy, come quick! You have to see what Hunter did, and I don't think you're gonna be very happy..."
"What happened Bailey??"
"He let all our friends out to play in our preschool room downstairs!"
"Our friends?? What friends??"
"You know.. our worm friends, and our roly-poly friends..."

Yeah... about 3 dozen creepy crawlies later, you may be wondering if I'm glutten for punishment?! Well, one look at his face, and you just might have a lapse in judgement too! ;) Happy birthday buddy!!!

Playing catch up

Well, I've been putting this off long enough... There's SO much to tell! Brandon and I figured if we are going to drive 3 days to see family, we were going to make it worth our while! The entire month of July in Utah seemed worth while enough to me! :) The kids were truly FABULOUS in the car, and to reward them, they were spoiled royally by three adoring grandmas!!!

We bounced around a bit, but stared off at Grandma Roberts' house, then went for a weekend boating trip in Elko with the De Groot side and my Aunt Lauren. Then it was back to Grandma Roberts' for more fun with cousins, on to Grandma De Groot's, then a Hooley family reunion up Ephrain Canyon (we went "camping" in a beautiful trailor with AC... HEAVEN!). All in all, a splendid vacation visiting family and old friends. You'll notice, the slide show below excludes the camping trip with the Hooley family, but no worries, I'll share those pictures too once I get a copy of them. :) ENJOY!!!

Comparison

People ask me all the time, "Does Peyton look like Bailey?". Well, I have my own de-ja-vu opinions.. but pictures recap memories so much better! :)

Here's Peyton at about 6 weeks on her blesing day:
Here's Bailey at about 6 weeks (imagine her mouth closed..):
Peyton on her blessing day again:
Here's Bailey on her blessing day.. she was about 2.5-3months here, but you can see her little facial features really well:
So.. what do you think?! :)