Our Big November

Our not-so-little family seemed to have the busiest November. Hayden by far was the busiest. In the last month he started holding his own bottle, sitting up all by himself, pulling himself to stand next to whatever objects he can find, cut his second tooth and has started sleeping through the night. He still is not actually crawling but he is the fastest "army crawler" I have ever seen. We have also given up on trying to feed him baby food as he WILL NOT eat it. He loves anything that has cinnamon and sugar on it and will eat a whole adult serving of cream of wheat if you will let him.

Nolan was also very busy this month. He had his first trimester self lead parent teacher conference. It went MUCH better than I expected. ( this was the re-building trimester for him since he moved back and had to re-acclimate to a *non- traditional school and a living back at home) His school does this awesome program for the new freshman class. They have a partnership with Outward Bound and take all the kids to Leadville Colorado and do a 4 day team building event. There are not modern accommodations and they have to sleep in team made tarp tents. There is a tree suspended ropes course that is 30 feet from the ground that the students need to complete for self confidence as well as many other team projects that help them learn skills that will help them in “the real world”. He had a lot of fun and can’t wait to do it again his senior year. The day after he got back he had to go get an ingrown toenail permanently removed (not a lot of fun for him) and a few days later had his teeth cleaned. He also had another hearing test to make sure the tube he had put in his ear is working. I’m excited to announce that he has regained all the lost hearing in his right ear.

I had my 26 week check up and all is well. I am on the official days until I will never have to be pregnant again countdown…. 84 days…. But who’s counting.

Brea, well other than a bit of shopping with Daddy and Mommy her month was pretty slow.

Kelson is neck deep in studying for the last 2 GED test that he needs to complete so he can move back to Fort Collins. ( For those of you who don’t know Kelson dropped out of high school…. I not happy about it, but what can you do other than help him get his GED so he can be a productive part of society) He also has a great job at Safeway and that is keep him busy and out of trouble.

Elton has been working tons of overtime at his job and that is both good and bad… good because his pay checks are awesome… bad because he is not getting home until after the babies go to bed… but I really can’t complain.

We went to Elton’s parents for Thanksgiving and that was really a lot of fun. We got to meet Art’s ( Elton’s stepfather) daughter Mia and her husband. They are good people. Ron (Elton’s brother) also made it down from Breckinridge to join the festivities. It was good to see him as we had not seen him in almost a year. The kids had a great time hanging out and dinner was delicious.

Also thanks to Art and Gail for the wonderful baby basket and gifts for Hayden and Brea.

Happy Thanksgiving


We wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. May your day be filled with love and happiness.
Love,
Elton, Brook, Kelson, Nolan, Brea, Hayden & Baby Payton

I'm making all my Christmas gifts this year......

My dear friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, I'm not getting an annual bonus and Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes.
You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads: You need four maxi pads to make a pair. Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part. The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top. Tape or glue each sid e of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part. Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:

* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself.... Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you




Happy Holidays........

Digital Scrapbooking


I have been trying my hand at digital scrap booking the last few days. I figured that because I have the two little ones and another on the way... not to mention the two older ones who I still have to scrapbook for that the only way I would ever get this huge task done was to try digital scrap booking. I found a site that had a trial software program and another site that had a ton of cute paper and embellishments. After 2 days of downloading, organizing and figuring out the software I completed a page that I am very excited about...
I will be adding the software to my super short Christmas list (it only has new matching wedding bands for Elton and I.. I can't wear my wedding ring because I keep scratching the kids)

Pumpkin Hunting 2008