Three

She is finally three! Although she looks like she should be turning four. She is a big girl with a big personality. This past year I have seen a bit of a change in her. A little taller a little bit more mature and independent to say the least. Since Micah has come along she has had some changes and I would say changes for the better. Anyone who knows her knows that she has a mind and adgenda all her own and anything or anyone for that matter that gets in the way of that is bound to see her moments of complete craziness. But within the past few months she has gotten so much better. Don't get me wrong. There are definitely still times that she is still being "Payton" as I say. She is talking way more than ever and is full of things to say. This coming year should be a big one for her which I think she will love. Having an older brother that gets to do all sorts of activities and does get a lot of attention from it, isn't easy. She will be starting preschool in the fall. Hopefully that all goes well. She will be doing her own activities like dance and gymnastics. And in January she will be going into Primary. I am so excited to see how this year will mature her into the sweet and beautiful little girl that she is. Happy Birthday Payton!

Jen as you can tell I liked your idea. Hope you don't mind.

Sorry no pictures of the fun luau party... I didn't realize that the CF card wasn't in the camera... Oops!

Noah's Ark at Skirball Center

This is the Noah's Ark exibit at the Skirball Cultural Center that the kids and I went to with some friends on Tuesday. It was pretty cute. The kids were allowed to play with all the gadgets they had that were part of the display.

After seeing the exhibit we went outside where there is a rainbow water show that goes every 5 minutes and the all the kids went crazy for and got a bit wet....

Where's Grandpa?

This is what happens when Grandpa comes over...

Big Bear

What a wonderful week we had. We spent the 1st through the 8th up in Big Bear. A much needed vacation for all of us. Although Jared still had to work a little while we were there. The kids were so happy to be away from home and in a new home. We stayed in a beautiful home with a beautiful view of the lake. It was nice just to be away from everyday life and enjoy the beautiful mountains and scenery. We had a little friendly squirrel that would come every morning looking for peanuts. We spent the 4th of July there and barbequed, took a boat around the lake and watched fireworks. All the boats gather around and they set the fireworks off over the middle of the lake. It was pretty cool. Jared and Julian spent a little father and son fishing. Payton tried for a minute and was a little impatient. They unfortunately didn't catch anything. Good thing though. We would have cooked it for dinner and I am not sure I know how to gut it and cook fish.

Jared ended up working one day so I took the kids to the zoo that they have up there. It wasn't as big as the LA Zoo but bigger than a petting zoo. Just enough for them to walk through and they were done. Other than that we just hung around the house and went in the hot tub which wasn't that hot. It was like a bathtub. On Friday the Finnigans came up and spent a couple of days with us. It was so fun to have company and the kids were happy to have some friends around. We took the boat out again and had a great time.

Here are some other pictures from our trip and of the new toys that Jared bought. They are for the kids but I think for himself as well.