Way, Way behind...

For any of you who check our blog on a regular basis, I apologize for being so behind!!  The last four weeks have been filled with multiple weddings, a trip to Vegas, a birthday party and lots of other various activities.  This past Sunday was the first day I didn't have to go anywhere!  It was so nice to be home.  Of course, there was a ton of housework that we had fallen behind on after being gone so much, but at least I didn't have to go anywhere!!

 

I will try and recap a couple of highlights of the past month.   For some reason I don't have a lot of pictures, but I added a few.  Some of them were cell phone pictures, so they might not be the best quality.  We went to a wedding here in Kansas of a coworker of Justins.  One of his friends has a son close to Paytons age that was in the wedding.  So the two of them played alot.  Payton was really shy at first.  He even told me that he wanted to be shy! Then after eatting all of the M&M favors on our table, he was no longer shy!  He started dancing so funny.  I have never seen him act like that before. It was hilarous!  I have no idea what he was doing, but I captured it on my phone.

http://images.video.msn.com/flash/soapbox1_1.swf

 

The next weekend Justin and I headed to Las Vegas for another wedding.  We had a wonderful time.  It was the first time we have ever both been away from Payton for more then one night.  And we had only done that twice since he was born!  He stayed at Grandma Joys while we were gone.  They had a wonderful time!  He didn't even want to come home when we got home, he wanted to stay at Grandmas!!  A big thank you to my mom for watching him for 4 days!  It was a much needed get away for the two of us.

 

In other news--Payton is doing great in PreK!  I was a little nervous at first, because I knew he was ready academically, but socially, he is still just 3 1/2-4, while most of the kids in his class are 4 and 5.  The first day or two at drop off and pickup we had a few minor issues because things were different then what he was used to, but we have not had one issue since then and the teacher said he is going great.  Right now he is learning how to spell the colors.  They are also learning sight words.  This has really sparked an interest in wanting to read.  He is constantly asking me what stuff says in books or on signs, etc.   I think being with the older kids has helped alot as well.  He has started playing by himself a lot more and using a lot of imaginative play.  I can sometimes hear him in his room talking to his stuffed animals and playing.  I keep trying to catch it on video, but I am not sneaky enough! 

 

I am happy and sad that summer is over.  We love summer to be able to play outside, but I am actually looking forward to fall.  Payton is very aware that his birthday is coming up and after his birthday Santa comes.  So I think the holidays this year will be a lot of fun because he is really into it!

 

 

Boats, tractors and golf carts!

These are all of the things that Payton got to 'drive' last weekend!  We had a fun filled trip to Western Iowa last weekend to visit Grandma and Grandpa Schulte and Uncle Jeremy!  Aunt Kristin went up with us as well.  The first day we went to visit all of the Great Grandparents and then we went on a boat ride.  Grandpa Randy even let Payton drive the boat!!  I think they both loved it.  The next day we went golfing.  Payton got to try out his new golf clubs.  He was very fascinated with the ball washer thing.  That is not really a surprise for Payton!  While we were golfing, he got to sit on Justins lap and help drive the golf cart.  After golfing, we headed to the farm so Payton could go for a tractor ride.  He had been talking about it for days, so he was very excited when Grandpa told him to take his pick.   Then, we had to go in the field to show Payton the corn because he was confused as to why it was green and not yellow.  I am not sure who was having more fun...Payton or Grandpa Randy!!

Then, on the last day we all went to Omaha to go to the zoo on our way home!

 

In other news, we just found out that Payton is going to be moving to the Pre-K class next week.  It is early for him to move up, but they feel he is ready.  They think that if he stays in his current class he will get bored, because the items they are going to be learning in the next few months he has already mastered.  So he is pretty excited to move up with the big kids.  It is much more of a structured environment.  His class will be working on sight words, simple addition and subraction, spelling, writing and phonics.  I think he will do great.  He does really well in a learning environment and is like a sponge, he just absorbs information.  The only downside of moving up this early, is that he will be in this class until he starts kindergarten, which isn't for two years.  So we may have a problem keeping him challenged next year.  But I have a whole year to worry about that!

HOT, HOT, HOT

It has been so HOT down here the last few days.  This was what my car was reporting as the temp on Sunday.  (Yes, it says 102 degrees!)

It has been near 100 for a few days now.  Despite the heat, we had a busy and fun weekend!!  Saturday we went to a T-Bones baseball game.   They are a semi-pro baseball team in the area.  It was a lot of fun!  Tickets are super cheap, so we got great seats. 

Then on Sunday we went to a fun pool that has lots of slides, spray features and a lazy river.  It was a great way to beat the heat.  Payton loved it.  So I have a feeling that we will be back there a few more times!  I have added some pictures to the Summer Fun album.

We are leaving this week to head to Western Iowa to spend a few days visiting up there, so I am sure I will have lots more pictures to post next week. 

Summer Fun

Last weekend we took Payton to Paradise Park.  It is a fun place for kids of all ages with lots of interactive play.  He loved the pretend town where you could go to the bank, the grocery store and the pizza parlor!   While we were there we there we played minature golf as well.  Payton had never played before so we were not quite sure what to expect, but he got 2 hole in ones!  I think it was proably just a fluke, but we were pretty speechless when he did the first one! 

He passed his swimming lessons with flying colors!!  Everyday in the bathtub he shows me what he learned.  I am amazed at what they can teach preschoolers.  I am anxious to take him to the pool myself to see what he can do. 

4th of July 2008

We had a wonderful trip to Iowa for the 4th of July!!  The weather was terrific.  High 70's, low 80s the entire time!  The entire trip was jam packed with visiting everyone.  We got to spend a ton of time with lots of family and friends.   It was great to get to see Payton interact with other children of all ages.  We do not have a lot of kids by us, so besides at preschool, he doesn't get to play with other kids that much.   On the way up, we drove through the Iowa City/Coralville area to see the flood damage.  It was heart breaking to see a place I used to call home devasted like that.  We spent the 4th at the Dixon park and enjoyed awesome fireworks!  Payton got to spend a lot of time swimming, which is great since he started his second session of swimming lessons on Monday. 

He seems to be enjoying his swimming lessons.   He used to be a little hesitant around the water, but not anymore.  So I guess they are paying off! 

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Disney

We had a WONDERFUL time at Disney World!  It truly was magical!  The trip started on Monday with the alarm going off at 2:30 am! We had to be out the door by 4:15am in order to make it to the airport on time.  We were at our hotel by noon and we were instantly submerged in all things Mickey!   We spent all day Tuesday at Magic Kingdom.  And by all day, I mean ALL DAY! (7:45am until midnight, with a 2 hour break in the afternoon!!)  Wednesday was at Epcot and Thursday at Hollywood Studios, then swimming and home on Friday.  Payton was able to meet many of the Disney characters in the parks and at the character dinner that we booked.  He was literally giddy with excitement.  He kept jumping up and down and screaming.  It melted my heart to see him so excited.  He did amazing the entire trip.  Especially considering the lack of sleep the whole trip and constantly going, going, going.  I think we will be planning more trips to Disney World in the future! 

I added a bunch of pictures from the trip to the photo album for you to enjoy. 

The countdown begins!

We are going to Disney World!  We are so excited!  Payton askes me no less than 10 times a day (I am not kidding) when we are going to Mickey Mouse's house!  Justin is even getting more excited as the days go on as he talks to other people that have gone there as well.  We both have stressful and demanding jobs, so we are thrilled to get away from it all for a bit.  What a better way to do that then go to the Happiest Place on Earth!

The trip is very special for me.  Disney was a big part of our lives when we were children.  We were fortunate to be able to go many times.  I even used to also collect anything Mickey as a child.  So, I have lots of fond family memories there.   So to be able to share the same thing with my family feels wonderful.

And, for anyone who knows me, they know I am a big planner.  Planning for 3 full days in the parks (relatively short trip in Disney terms) takes a lot of planning and organization.  So, this is perfect that I get to go on a trip and do lots of planning as well!!