Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Lions and tigers and bears... oh my!

We had such a fun weekend! I was looking forward to it the whole week, so it felt extra special when it finally got here. On Saturday, I had planned a hike for Kyle, Payton and I. We went to Silver Falls State Park, which is about an hour away from Albany, east of Salem. It's actually the largest state park in Oregon, it's huge! Once we finally figured out where to start our hike, we got suited up, put Payton in the backpack, and off we went!

Look guys! The trail is that way!



Payton did good, she pretty much chatted at us the whole time we were walking. We decided to do the shorter hike, just 2.5 miles, because we weren't sure how long our luck would last. What the shorter hike lacked in distance, it definitely made up for in incline though! It took about an hour and a half, so it was perfect. There were several waterfalls along the way, and the hike even takes you right down to them and behind them. Payton didn't really like that though, I think it was too loud for her!

The falls were beautiful. You can see the little trail where you walk behind them!

Whoa look!

Mommy by the falls

I see you :)

We stopped for a snack on the trail, and then finished up our walk. It's sad how out of shape I am, my calves are still hurting!

Sunday was a much anticipated day as well... our first family trip to the zoo! Payton, her parents, and all four grandparents were in attendance. We tried to answer the age-old question... how many people does it take to entertain one toddler? :) She is certainly one loved little girl!

This is looking like it's gonna be a good day guys!

Grandmas!

I wasn't too sure about petting the goats

Walking is so FUN! :)



Snuggling with Grandma Jo



There was a big lawn where they hold concerts and shows, we ate lunch there. It was a nice open space to run around in!

Me and mommy :)



The girls

Riding the train!





Grandpa Scott and I :)

Payton definitely enjoyed it, we all had a great day. I think she was more interested in looking at all the different people than the animals though :) We can't wait to go back, I think everytime we do she will enjoy it more and more!

This weekend is one of the most anticipated weekends of the year for me... 4th of July at the lakehouse! I can't wait, especially since this year I think Payton is going to have a blast going out on the boat, and getting her feet wet in the water. Hope everyone has a great fourth!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

School's out... for summer!

Kyle is officially done student teaching! His last day was on Thursday. Hard to believe it was two years ago that he started this journey, but he is definitely ready to be a teacher. We are all so proud of him! He's applied to two teaching jobs in Corvallis, unfortunately there's not anything open in Albany right now. Hopefully he can get some good experience though, and when the right job opens up he'll be ready! He got a job for the summer working for the city of Albany, paving roads and stuff. This will be the third summer he's done it, and he really likes it. The pay is good, the hours are good, and he gets to be outside all day. He'll get out around the same time he did while teaching, so Payton's schedule doesn't change either as far as daycare goes, which is nice.

So, a lot of you are probably wondering what the heck we are doing with our house... we've actually decided to sell it. We worked hard to get it cleaned out and staged nice, and it officially went on the market last Friday. We've had 4 or 5 showings already this week, so our agent was really encouraged by all the activity. We hope it continues until it sells! We thought about it, and really the only reason we would rent it out would be to not have to pay back our first time home buyer tax credit. I researched it, and you actually don't have to pay it back if you sell your house for a loss (which obviously we have to, although not too bad). Neither Kyle or I are interested in being landlords, and our ultimate desire is to sell it so we can buy a home down here, so we decided to go ahead and give it a shot. Wish us luck!

These last few weeks have been full of graduations; I went to 4 this year! Tanner and Bryan's were the 9th and 11th of this month, very proud of the Hall boys. I took Payton to Bryan's after she had her morning nap, but didn't take her to Tanner's because it started at 7pm. I put her to bed and a friend of Kyle's cousin sat at the house while she slept and I went to the graduation. Worked out pretty well! I'll let my pictures tell the story.

Waiting to go

Tanner getting his diploma!

Giving the principal Mrs. Orsborn a big hug!

Way to go Tanner!

Brothers :)

Proud parents

Hall clan

Tanner said this one's for Chelsea! lol

Tanner and his girlfriend Brittney :)

Snuggling with cousin Courtney at Bryan's graduation. It was a hot muggy day and I was very cuddly.

College grad with his brothers

And his lovely new wife :)



I helped hold the diploma!

Don't I look adorable in a graduation cap?? :)

Payton is doing well, although she has been QUITE cranky lately. She was sent home from daycare on Tuesday with a fever of 101, but we took her to the doctor and her ears looked fine so he just attributed it to a virus. That, coupled with constipation and a bunch of new teeth (I noticed one of her molars in the back poking through), has really set her on edge. She's pretty sensitive, when we used to say bye she would smile and wave, and now she breaks into tears because she understands that someone is really leaving. We just have to remind ourselves to be patient, but it's hard when I'm wondering where my easygoing baby went. She's also decided that she's not interested in taking afternoon naps anymore, which makes for a pretty cranky evening. Her walking is amazing though, it's weird to think just a couple weeks ago she was still crawling around. It's fun to go to the park now and let her wander around and explore. She likes to pick up her jackets and walk around holding them, which is funny to watch. She's imitating us a lot more these days, this morning I had my hands over my mouth and I looked over at her and she slapped her hands over her mouth too, like I had just told her something terrible. Kyle and I died laughing! My parents also came down last weekend, which was wonderful. Payton loves seeing them, and so do I! I kept forgetting they hadn't seen her really walking yet, so it was cool for them to see her walking everywhere. We went on a trip to the park before they had to go home!

Reading with Grandma

Wee!

Down the slide!







Swinging with Grandpa

This weekend isn't really exciting, I'm on call so we don't really have any plans. It's raining outside anyway, so we timed that pretty well :) I'm excited for next weekend though! We're taking Payton to the Portland Zoo for the first time, I think she will love it. My parents are going to try and come down and go with us too, so it should be a fun family outing. I'm also going to try and fit in a hike that weekend so we can really put that baby backpack to use that we got for Christmas. I hope the weather cooperates!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

As promised! :)

Baby modeling :) lol

This one is one of my favorites!

Whatcha doing daddy?!

Oooh

Haha!

My new rocketship

Bumper cars!

I'm looking more and more like a little girl these days, not just a baby! :)

This last weekend Sue hosted a graduation party at the Hall house for all three boys; Kyle graduating with his Master's degree, Bryan graduating with his Bachelor's degree, and Tanner graduating high school. If you add in Chelsea's graduation a couple weeks ago, apparently I'm the only one who's not graduating this year. I didn't get the memo!

Party outfit #1...

...and party outfit #2! Mom gave me some watermelon to eat, and wasn't thinking because it stained my white shirt pink. Whoops.

This is my friend Katelynn, I was really confused why my daddy was holding her though

I like throwing the ball!

Cousin Courtney let me eat dinner on her lap!

Can I help you mommy? I'm busy!

I have become very brave and adventurous since figuring out how to walk everywhere. Mom turned around for a couple seconds, and found this when she looked back at me!

Why ride this when I can climb it?

Bathtime!

Brushing my teeth, which I'm not really a fan of these days

And finally... a walking video! This was actually taken several days ago, and she gets better and better at it everyday! She's getting fast, almost running now!

video Such a big girl!

The graduation festivities are continuing this week and weekend. Tanner graduates from high school on Thursday, and Bryan graduates from college on Saturday. Plus my parents are coming to visit, so it should be a busy weekend! Congrats to the graduates! :)