Peyton's Favorite 2nd Birthday Party

Get ready for a lot of pictures.

Peyton's biggest birthday present was a bright pink cast. You're welcome, baby.

The original plan was to hang the balloons from the ceiling but since she wouldn't be able to reach them with her leg being broken and all, we just threw them all over the floor. A better solution if you're 2 years old and your leg is broken.

We blew up a ton of pink balloons and decorated the house to get ready for her big day (I felt SO bad that I wasn't able to have a birthday party for her ON her birthday but we had to do it the next day so that some of my work friends could make it AND so that we could get a killer deal on the bounce house we got. Oh well, Peyton didn't know the difference!)

Her cousins came over for a little bit and they all had fun playing together.

She LOVES her cousins!!

Such a happy baby!

They MUST be Wheelers... haha :)

For her party, we got a bounce house slide! It was awesome. I had originally ordered the bounce house a good hour before the party actually started so that Peyton could have all of it for herself... and then she broke her leg.... So that didn't really work. Oh well.

For the most part, she just sat on the edge watching all the kids play on the slide. 

So much food!! 

And thanks Lani for the fruit salad...

 her little one was sick so she couldn't make it but she still brought over the salad. So nice :)

Peyton kissing what was left of her pinata

Cupcakes!! Thanks Mira :)

She blew out the candle before we finished singing to her :)

Her face was STUFFED with candy and cake

This picture and the one below it aren't good quality but you get the idea of how crazy it was... Thank goodness Peyton was the only one who got the broken leg that day :)

The party was so fun... and random! Thanks so much to everyone who came out. It wouldn't have been the same without all of you there to share this special day with us. Peyton didn't know what to do with all the attention :)

This was the only picture with all of us smiling :) 

We were trying to make Kristy seem GINORMOUSLY tall

Riena and Mira

Opening presents was hilarious... She got spoiled!! She'd bite into the wrapping paper to make a hole, rip open a present using a completely different hole, try it on, throw it off to the side, point to the pile of presents, and say, "More!" It was super cute and really funny. Peyton received a lot of toys, books, and super cute clothes!! I can't wait until her cast comes off so that we can dress her up in her leggings and boots.

It was such a crazy, fun day. We are so grateful that we have such wonderful family and friends who are so great with Peyton. I can't wait until next year so that we can have another fun party!!

Best. Rest stop. EVER!

I didn't think that anything after hiking the Narrows would impress me as much for awhile.

And I was wrong! On our drive back home, we stopped by a rest stop to fill up on gas. We pull into the gas station and across the street is a petting zoo complete with its own ZEBRA!! What?! Last thing I expected in Utah... that's for sure! Ends up, there's an entire zebra farm here in Utah... Weird, right?

Peyton had a blast as usual... This girl has no fear. She basically ran into the petting zoo, straight up to the first animal she saw (luckily it was a sheep), and slapped it on its butt :) haha! I guess the sheep liked it because it followed her around the rest of the time. Peyton would touch one animal and then race to the next one to start it all over again. There were goats, sheep, emus, an ostrich, llamas, donkeys, deer, a peacock, chickens, and a lot more!

We got there just in time too because they closed the zoo right when we left. There was also a Dairy Queen there so that helped make this rest stop the best rest stop ever... Yum!

And just so you know, zebras are mean!!

The Narrows

I don't know why we never hiked the Narrows until this past cabin trip... It was so much fun!! I can't wait until we can plan an entire trip starting at the top and hiking all the way back down. If you are ever in the St George area, go hike the Narrows!!

 Our whole group: 
Me, Ben, Peyton, Mira, I forget his name, Glenn, I forget his name too, Stephanie, Riena, Ziggy, and Kamry

 We didn't know that we'd be going there so Ben and I had to stop by the store and buy a few extra things for Peyton: a new swim suit, swim diapers, and a few extra fun things. And can I just add that the WalMart in Hurricane is AMAZING!! Like you could try to play the people at WalMart bingo game there and lose miserably type of amazing. Not a toothless person in sight!!

Showing the difference of the water height!

 You couldn't see anything in that muddy water!

We got to the park and took the shuttle all the way to the beginning of the Narrows. I was a little nervous because I've heard so many horror stories of flash floods in there. Ben assured me that they would close the park if there was even the slightest possibility of a flood but still... I made sure he knew to save Peyton's life before doing anything else. The whole time we were hiking, I kept pointing out the places where he could climb up with Peyton just in case. It was kinda funny.

Me and the cute hubby... He was the one leading the pack the entire time!

The week before, it had rained a whole bunch so the water was muddy. Usually it's a bright, clear color so it made the hike a little more difficult because you couldn't see where the bank would just drop off or where the rocks were. But the views were gorgeous. It is amazing and almost humbling when you realize the power of all God's creations. So beautiful!!

My family... I love them.

Ben (and Peyton) leading the way! Peyton wanted to get down in the water so badly but because we couldn't see how deep the water was all the time, she had to wait until we stopped to take a break to get in. 

It was so much fun... a lot of people but the higher we went, the less people there were. 

Exploring! The views and cliffs were breath-taking! 

On the shuttle back down. I don't ever want to forget Mira yelling (like she's never seen them before): DEER!!! All the Asian tourists took out their cameras... and I don't mean me either. haha :)

Cabin Trip

Our friend, Ziggy, has a close friend that he baptized on his mission who owns a cabin in New Harmony... 

phew, did you get that? 

We go all the time and every time, its a blast! Have you ever seen the movie the Secret Window? The interior of the cabin we stay at looks exactly like that one... It's kinda creepy when you think about that because the movie is a suspenseful one but we don't let that stop us!

Ben and I are usually the only married couple that goes so we automatically get one of the two master bedrooms by default. I won't turn down a king-sized bed.  

There have been so many fires in this area recently! 

Last year, the fire came within a few feet of the cabin.

We usually just hang out and relax while we're there. Ben usually wakes up early in the morning and will go hiking. Last time he went hiking, we found out that he was within a couple of yards of a real, live cougar so he goes with a gun every time now.

This time, we took his little .22 and shot at cans, bottles, and tree stumps. Ben and Glenn wanted to go all Man Vs. Wild and find a rattlesnake, kill it, and then use its skin to store water (that of course, they were going to dig up from the ground or get from a cactus).... The rest of us just walked back to the cabin and drank cold, fresh water from the tap.

Every time we've been to the cabin, we've driving by the exit to Kolob Canyon. This time, we finally went! And I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous but the hike we went on... led to nowhere. Oh well. Peyton had fun... she got to ride on Daddy's and Uncle Glenn's shoulders. It was so cute. She'd raise both her hands above her head and yell, "wheee!!" 

We got to the edge and Peyton's face... oh my goodness! I know there are already a ton of pictures but honestly, I had to include these. You know those times when you really want to know what your kid is thinking? This is one of those times!! (You might want to click on the picture so you can see her face better...)

Oh to be a kid again!! We had so much fun on this trip. 

Thanks Ziggy for being an awesome friend and inviting us to the cabin trip!!

Utah County Fair

I kept hearing ads for the Utah County Fair on the radio and it sounded like fun so Peyton and I called Toshi and we went to the Fair!! Oh my, the smell.

We looked at the sheep and cows they were showcasing... Peyton couldn't get over them! We left the animals and walked around to all the booths. Toshi and I signed up to host a Posh party and we're so excited to pamper ourselves!! We walked over to the kid's corner and Peyton got to see a few pigs, goats, bunnies, pigeons, chickens, dogs, and a pony. She got to hold one of the bunnies but was constantly trying/wanting to hold all of them at once... Those poor bunnies!!

We got a massage and then took a break to sit and watch a presentation put on by the BYU Bean Museum. Peyton LOVED the turtle they brought out.  "Momma! Look!!! TUR!!!!!" over and over again. It was so cute and slightly embarrassing...

They had a display of a HUGE country made up entirely of Legos. It was really cool. There were trains and tunnels and dinosaurs and all sorts of neat things. Peyton was mad she couldn't touch the trains... There were also prizes and ribbons for things that were... interesting? Haha :) Everything from canned peaches to a mural made entirely up of cereal to baby quilts to toilet paper roll art.

Toshi was nice enough to buy tickets for us to go on a ride together. We took Peyton on the Ferris Wheel. Instead of crying about getting on, she cried that we had to get off!! She loved it.

On the Ferris Wheel... 

This is my "Oh-I'm-terrified-and-about-to-die-but-I'll-take-a-picture-for-memory-sake" face

I've never been to a County Fair before and my first experience was fun! Peyton and I loved it and can't wait until next year so we can go again!! I can, however, wait for the smell... that can wait.

Where I've Been

Ben's phone broke down and he went in to see if he could get it fixed. He came back with a smart phone... and it. was. awesome. We never thought we'd give in because all we need phones for is talking and texting, right? WRONG! Ben's phone was awesome... so he told me I could get one! So I went in with this:

And came out with.....

This! The Samsung Galaxy SIII. 

And that's where I've been lately. 

You can blame that phone for my lack of blogging....

But ALL my pictures and videos are on my phone right now so I just need to upload all of them and then you can be ready for all the fun things my family and I have been up to. 

And I may need to play a couple of games before I get to this blogging business. 

Haha

Happy Birthday Peyton!!!

I'm so behind on blogging... You don't even know! BUT I have to do this before it gets buried underneath the billions of pictures and stories that I have!!

It's unreal to believe that 2 years ago this little angel came into our lives. Ben and I have been changed for the better because of her. She is always so happy. My favorite part of the day is coming home from work and seeing her face light up when she sees me. She is always so forgiving. When I scold her for something, she is so quick to "say sorry" (she does this by giving hugs... she can't say sorry yet!). She is always so friendly. I think she's only been 100% shy only twice... She loves going up to people to say hi. Let's be honest, she's not perfect all the time. She's definitely in the Terrible Two stage but I would not trade her for anything. I love being her mom. She is so much fun and is growing up way too fast!!

Enough with the mushy stuff... Now for a little bit about Peyton! She won't eat food until she prays for it. Prayers usually go something like this: .... Thank you.... momma.... dada..... baby....glenn....rie rie.... MEN!! (not Men, just a-men).She is starting to sit through Sacrament meeting (thanks to our new phones! They keep her occupied). She loves playing with balls, anything that has wheels and can be rolled or pushed, and animals. Oh my goodness, she LOVES animals! Some of her favorites right now are turtles, fish, kittens, and cows.

She is still as active as ever although that changed a few days before her birthday. Ben was hiking with the Young Men in the ward and I had to go to work so we asked my sister, Mira, and Kamry to watch Peyton for the day. They wanted to go to a new place in Provo called Hang Time. We've been there a few times before and Peyton has always had a blast. Its a super fun place that is divided into different sections: a huge trampoline area, foam pits, and a dodgeball trampoline area. Fun. So Ben and I were fine with it. Peyton ended up running across a trampoline that Kamry was jumping on and got double-bounced. She landed kinda weird and after that wouldn't put any weight on her right leg. Let's be honest. Peyton is so active, its insane. She is constantly running and jumping and climbing and has sooo much energy!! We figured she'd bounce back (haha) because this wouldn't be the first time she's been hurt. But that night, every time she moved in her sleep, she would wake up in tears. It was a long night. We called the doctor's office and they told us to bring her in. Thank goodness for after-hour clinics!! We got xrays and found that she did break her leg. Its a fracture called.... wait for it.... a trampoline fracture. Currently, she's in a splint but will have to be put in a cast. It is probably one of the saddest things I've ever seen. She went from being one of the most active kids around to the most immobile. And the way she tries to crawl and move around? Ugh... so sad. She still can't walk around yet but I'm sure it'll come as soon as she's in a cast. The up side? She is the youngest person in our family to have a broken bone... She beat Ben by 1 whole year!! :)

Love you Peyton. Thanks for being such an amazing daughter. You are such a good baby. You definitely have spoiled mommy and daddy. We love you!!!