South Dakota

This past weekend we made a quick escape to Spearfish, SD to visit John, Brittnie, and Taylor who moved there a little over a year ago. I think both Kole and I were dreading the 6 hour drive as Payton is not a big fan of riding in the car seat, never really has been really, but as an infant she would eventually give in and sleep, not so much these days. We left late Friday morning and I did my best to wear her out before we got in the car in hopes she would sleep a couple hours. We got 45 minutes out of her, awesome. She was tired and angry about being in the car when she woke up and we still had 2 hours until our scheduled mid-way stop in Lusk, WY. It was a rough couple of hours, but we survived. The above picture is quite misleading as she watched about 10 minutes of a video and then decided it was more fun to push all of the buttons. In fear that we would break the DVD player Nana so graciously lent us, I ended video time.

We made it to Lusk, gassed up and stopped for a quick bite at The Pizza Place (that's literally the name). The pizza was great and the people friendly.

So happy to have escaped the dreaded car seat...

Making friends with the manager who was trying to balance the books with a game of peek-a-boo

She's quite the character when strangers are around, she doesn't know the meaning of the word and spends any time we are out in public be-friending anyone who will give her the time of day.

Mom and Dad's reward for surviving the first half of the drive

We made it to Spearfish around 6:30 in the evening. The second half of the drive was smoother, she slept for a whole hour this time, wasn't as angry when she woke up, and it was only 2 1/2 hours to Spearfish from Lusk.

We hit the Friday night street fair the town puts on, mingled, drank beer, ate bratwursts and caught up with old friends.

Taylor ( 2 1/2) and Payton hit it off immediately and spent the whole weekend playing together. Taylor was so sweet to Payton and really mothered her all weekend. Payton was really good for the most part (minus a minor dinner incident) and really enjoyed playing with Taylor.

Saturday we slept in a little and woke to the smell of Brittnie's yummy breakfast casserole, such a treat! We went to the local fish hatchery and park and let the girls explore. Payton learned the word "fish" while we were there.

Too cute for words!

Fast friends...

Saturday evening after we let the girls nap and enjoyed a little adult Wang - playing (it's a yard game) time we went to Deadwood, a quaint little gambling town in the Black Hills. There was a dog jumping competition going on in the street behind one of the big casinos that we stopped and watched for a while. It was pretty cool. We walked around a bit and ended the evening with an amazing dinner at an Italian restaurant (where Payton was less than delightful and the meal was consumed quickly).

Happy Father's Day!!!

Sunday morning the dad's played and early round of golf to enjoy their day and we hung home with girls in pajamas, they needed some downtime after our busy Saturday.

After golf we drive up the canyon to have Indian Tacos at the restaurant at the top. The inside was a 45 minute wait so we ate out on the little patio that has it's own little kitchen.

Here Payton is making friends with the kitchen staff...

Sweet family!

We stopped at the falls on the way down and explored, these are 20 min from John and Brittnie's house, they live in such a beautiful area.

I love this picture of the girls with their dads and Father's Day. Look how they are just chatting up a storm!

We left to brave the 6 hour trip back home around 6:30 Sunday evening. Payton did much better, ate some dinner, watched Tangled with mom and then crashed around 9:30 and slept until we pulled in the driveway at 12:30 am! Kole and I were pretty tired, especially Kole since it rained the entire 6 hour drive home, but we agreed driving at night is the way to go right now until Payton chills out about riding in her car seat.

We had such a great visit, thank you Ainsworths for sharing your home with us and for such a wonderful weekend. We love you and miss you dearly and it feels that no time has passed when we get to see you.

Until next time...

Summer Nights / Happy 1st Birthday Eli

Last week we met the Trujillos at Waneka Lake Park in Lafayette. It was the first really nice evening so far this summer and we wanted to wish Eli a happy birthday since we would be out of town for his party. We had a great time despite the birds eating our dinner and the windstorm that came out of no where! I'm so glad it's finally that time of year to be out in the evening!  Apparently I didn't get any pictures of Eli's big sis Ashtyn, but she was there and had ball at the park!

Helping Eli open the present she got him



Birthday Boy!!!

I can't believe he is one, it seems like just yesterday we had Jenn's shower for him :(

She's been bottle free for about a month, but stole Eli's the first chance she got!

Happy Birthday Eli Matthew, we love you so much and can't wait to watch you grow up!

One of Those Weekends...

This weekend was one of those weekends that come Sunday night, when I went to bed I thanked God for my life and the people He put it in it. Friday night Kole stayed home with Payton while I took Lexi out to dinner and a movie to celebrate her 13th birthday and to have a little girl time. We ate at Noodles & Company and then say Something Borrowed, we both loved it! Saturday we got up bright and early and out of the house by 7:00am to go to the Taste of Louisville. Louisville is the town I grew up in and where my parents still live. I joined Jenn and Maura, girls I have known a LONG time to run the 5K, which went well. Thank goodness Maura was there because Jenn left us in her dust! This is quite ironic as my friend Jennifer was known for her swimming skills and not her running skills when we were younger.   :)

After the race we met up with our families and enjoyed the Taste of Louisville festivities. They all went to Touch  a Truck while Payton caught a nap in the stroller. When they returned we grabbed lunch at local joint that was right on Main Street and were joined by other friends we had run into and Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Josh. It such an awesome way to spend a Saturday as a family and the weather was perfect! We got home early afternoon and let Payton nap while we got ready to go to a wine tasting we had booked a while back. Nana came to pick Payton up and keep her for the night which is always a treat (thanks Mom!!) and we went on our way. Little did I know my wonderful husband had something up his sleeve to celebrate our anniversary. After the tasting he drove us to the Hyatt in downtown Denver, where he had reservations for the evening!! We then caught a cab to this awesome sushi restaurant, had an amazing dinner and then walked back all the way through downtown to our hotel where we had dessert and wine and called it a night. I was so surprised! Kole arranged everything, even a dog sitter, without my knowing it was a beautiful, perfect night.

I told you I had a wonderful husband!

We picked up Payton late Sunday morning, went to church and then I hung home with P while Kole golfed with the boys and then we all gathered for dinner at Papa's.

It was one of those weekends :)

(the pictures are from Taste of Louisville, I stole them from Jenn's blog)

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Today is our 3rd Anniversary!!  Words can't really describe how great the last 3 years have been, but I'll try my best. About 6 years ago this quiet, sweet and handsome guy moved into the house I was renting. I was a little nervous about living with a male stranger, but I didn't have much of a choice and he seemed ok when he came to look at the house. Shortly after he moved in a I had a new friend, and about 5 years ago we started dating and I never looked back! I knew when Kole asked me to marry him I had myself a great catch, but I had no clue that 4 short years later I would be married to my best friend who is the most wonderful, dedicated, loving selfless husband and father a girl could asked for. Happy 3rd Anniversary babe, I love you so much. Here's to many, many more!

A few pics from out journey so far...

Couldn't resist taking a few pics of Payton before our walk to the park (sorry about them being sideways, I'll have to fix it later)...