Payton's Baby Blessing

The first Sunday of this month we had Payton's baby blessing at church. We were so lucky to have family here that came, as well as some of Ben's family that came to visit just for it. That meant a full house for us, and we loved every minute of the craziness! It was a weekend full of food, swimming, family, and fun, with a little shopping too. Ben's parents and twin brother, Mike, and family came out Friday night. We went out to dinner at The Keg to celebrate Mike finishing the Bar exam the day before (congrats!). Saturday Kathy, Laura, Payton and I went shopping for clothes and the boys took Baylee and Abby with them shopping for food for the next day. We met up for dinner at Liberty Market, one of our favorites, and then frozen yogurt at Ocean Blue, another one of our favorites, before Missy and her two boys got here. Sunday was Payton's blessing with a luncheon after. Mike, Laura and Abby left that afternoon, and Ben's parents left that night. Missy, Simon and Charlie stayed the night and then left early in the afternoon on Monday. Here's some pictures from the weekend:

Mike and Ben trying to relive the days when they were forced to dress alike? And Abby showing how she could pass for Mike's twin better than Ben could?

Payton showing Kathy his smiles. I can't get enough of them!

Little man of the day-Payton in his blessing outfit and all ready to go!

Quick family picture before church. We didn't have enough time to get a really good one.

Kathy holding Payton, and Simon and Baylee trying to get in the picture and get in on all the attention. Notice Baylee's clenched teeth-this is what she does every time she holds Payton's hand, although this isn't quite as extreme as it usually is.

My brother, Scott, waiting for the food, and my grandparents with Payton.

Food time! Ben and Mike, with myself and Laura in the background.

Mike trying to show he'd make a good candidate for French's Mustard Spokesperson if the lawyer thing doesn't work out.

Ben's sister, Missy, and my sister, Annie. I'm not sure what this conversation was. Maybe they are jealous of Mike and his mustard posing abilities. Laura snuck into the background again.

Me and my mom. She seems to do a good job of staying out of pictures, but she got caught this time!

Payton and Kathy. Ben's parents needed their fill of him, since they won't see him every two weeks anymore like they have since he was born. Next time will be November.

Payton with Dan. This was the only picture of Payton in this outfit with Dan where Payton wasn't crying.

Simon and Charlie eating popsicles. Remember these rocket pops?

Payton before his first time in the pool!

And he's in! And he loved it!

We had a great weekend! Thanks to everyone who helped make it a special time! We feel so lucky and blessed to have Payton in our family.

Baylee Turns 3!

Ok, I know that Baylee's birthday was over a month ago, but this is the last thing left in July for me to update on. Then it will be on to August (we'll see if I can get August done before September comes and goes)! On Baylee's actual birthday we were at Ben's sister Jenny's house in Carlsbad. Baylee was actually born on Jenny's birthday, so it was fun to be able to see her on her birthday also! Andre made a yummy breakfast, and before heading home that day Ben and I took Baylee (and Payton) to Sea World for a couple of hours. We didn't stay too long, and I have to say I think we are about Sea Worlded out for the year. And it was pretty hot too, which didn't help!

Ben and Baylee checking out the dolphins, hoping one would come by so we could touch it.

Baylee was so excited to see the manatees. There's a cartoon she loves(Dora or Diego), and one episode is about a manatee that turns into a mermaid.

The Sea World trip is never complete without a few Sesame Street rides. Baylee had to ride in the silver knight Elmo.

Like I said, it was a pretty short Sea World trip, and after we headed home. On the way home we ended up in a huge storm. First it was a horrible dust storm where we could barely see out the window:

The picture doesn't really show how bad it really was, but you get the idea. The dust of course was with really bad wind, and we eventually hit some crazy lightening and very heavy rain. Eventually we saw this:
This truck's trailer was tipped over on its side, and if you can see it, the back end of the truck is in the air. We also passed a big rig that had also turned on its side. It was so crazy, and I'm so glad we made it out of it and home safely!

Since we weren't home for Baylee's actual birthday, we had my parents and brother and sister over a couple days after to celebrate. Ben made some good food, and then we did presents and cake.

Payton wondering who that strange guy holding him is. This was Scott's first time holding him. He was too nervous to before.

Baylee opening presents. This one was from Scott and Annie and came in a talking Cinderella bag! She loves her new, unscratched DVD's!

The winning present from the night- forget the Barbie in there, she wanted to horse! She "rides" it around everywhere. She kept wanting to open it and play with it. Never mind the other presents.

Baylee finally got to open the present from Uncle Jim, Aunt Claire and kids that has been sitting in the fridge for a couple of months. She loves her fishing game! Thanks for all the presents everyone! (Including the ones she opened in California!)

Such an exciting party, as you can tell by looking at Payton and my dad! Yep, both out good.

Birthday girl with her second birthday cake. Not as cool looking as her Sleeping Beauty cake, but who can pass on a red velvet and strawberry ice cream cake from Coldstone? Not me! Baylee actually had this same flavor for her first birthday, but no blue frosting this time (that stuff dyed skin).

Ben and I got Baylee this scooter. She loves it, but it wasn't quite as big of a hit as the horse was that night. She loves to ride it in the house now though.

Happy Birthday, Baylee!!! I can't believe you are 3! It's gone by so fast. We love you!

Simpson Family Reunion

Ben's family had a reunion (his mom's side) that started the night of my birthday in Pleasanton. We had a fun and busy week with everyone. His parents did a great job at planning it and keeping everyone busy! Here's what was on the agenda:

Tuesday- Alactraz, San Francisco, and swimming at the hotel:

Everyone met up in San Francisco to go over to Alcatraz. I had never been before. It was a fun thing to do, although with two kids I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.

Family picure (minus Payton who was in our new double stroller) with a view of the bay.

We did an audio tour of the building. For some reason we didn't get Baylee her own headset, so she got a little bored.

Our nephews, Nathan and Owen, and niece, Jessica, with a guy that I think was a guard there? I didn't quite catch it all between the crowd and Payton deciding he was hungry.

After dealing with a bored Baylee, I finally gave in and let her have my headphones. I wasn't registering what was going on very well anyways, and it ended up being the end of the tour.

After the tour, we ventured on our own and only made it to getting lunch and one of my favorite loaves of bread (chocolate chip raisin) from the Boudin Bread Factory. We also made a pit stop on the way nack in Emeryville to get my absolute favorite cupcakes from the Teacake Bake Shop. They are the best, and I crave them all the time. Dinner that night was back at the hotel, with swimming too.

Wednesday: Santa Cruz beach and Picnic in the Park:

The plan for everyone was to go to the beach in Santa Cruz. Ben and I wanted an easier day where we didn't have to spend a long time in the car. Ben also didn't feel like getting burnt, and we thought maybe the beach wasn't the best for a five week old baby, so we opted to do our own thing. Kathy was so nice to want to take Baylee with her, so Baylee went with Grandma Hall to the beach.

Apparently Baylee had a blast at the beach, and had worn herself out so much she fell asleep on the way home.

While Baylee was enjoying the beach, the three of us went to The Great Mall for some shopping. Popular theme of sleeping, I guess.


For dinner that night everyone met up at a park. I actually played at this park as a kid. Whenever we would visit my grandparents when they lived in Pleasanton, my aunt would take us to all the different parks. I think this one is the one I threw up at from playing on the tire swing so much....


The park has a giant cement slide, and all the kids (and Ben) had a blast on it.


The ice cream man went by, so Ben of course had to get some. Baylee and Ben shared their Dora ice cream with cousin Mea.


Thursday: Amazing Race, Cabana Club, and A's game:

Thursday started out with an Amazing Race competition.
To start out, two people from every team had to hike to the top of the ridge. Ben got this picture from the top. Him and his cousin Jared did awesome! They came and got us wives and kids after (I think his aunt Janice was at the ridge too?), and then we did a scavenger hunt downtown where we had to answer questions about different buildings. It really paid off having Ben on our team-he knew Pleasanton well! After that we had to find a house where we picked up a box. Inside was materials to make a blanket for The Children's Hospital. We borrowed scissors from neighbors and tied it on someones lawn. We were so fast and ended up finishing and getting first place!


That afternoon we had a late lunch and swimming at the Cabana Club.

Bsylee had a lot of fun in the pool with her daddy!

Payton was so good even though it was so hot! This is him with Ben's brother, Ryan.

Can you guess where we went that night? The A's game!!!!!!!!!

We love the A's, and were excited to go! Some of our group even got onto the Jumbo-tron!


Friday: San Francisco and Farewell dinner:

Friday everyone hit San Francisco again. We stayed behind, once again and just had a low key day. 'i really can't remember what we did. But, that night we had a farewell dinner and said goodbye to everyone.

Baylee had a lot of fun with all her cousins. This is her with Garrett. We miss living by him and his family!

Saturday: Trip back home with a stop at Simply Fondue for Missy's bday and also Jenny and Andre's for the night:



Saturday we headed back home. We once again made a pit stop at Ben's sister's for the night, but made a pit stop on the way to her house also. It was Ben's other sister's birthday, so we had to join in the celebration at Simply Fondue for chocolate!

Ben's brother, Mike, even made an appearance! I guess this is what happens when you study for The Bar too much!

Me, Wendy, Payton, and Missy (the birthday girl), before we got in the car for another hour. They had done a mud run that day. Thanks for inviting us for dessert, Missy!


We had a great time with everyone! Thanks for a great vacation!

California/Baylee and Mea's Bday Party on Brittany's Bday

We went to California last month for a family reunion for Ben's mom's side of the family. We left Friday (July 10th), and stopped at his sister's in Carlsbad for the night. We didn't get to stay too long on Saturday, but her and three of her kids were coming up the next day. We had to hurry up to the bay area for my birthday dinner with his family. We met them at Simply Fondue, and barely made it in time. In fact, we had canceled because we had gotten stuck in traffic in LA. But Ben and his race car driving skills got us there just in time to go. We had a great dinner with his parents and our sister-in-law Anna and her kids. I think Ben's brother Ryan showed up just about when we were finishing up dessert. I LOVE fondue, as you will see with more updates. We also were lucky enough to have Ben's mom, Kathy, watch both kids for us so that we could go see a movie, a very rare event for us. I guess Ben goes to the movies a lot when the kids and I are asleep, but I never go.

We stayed at Ben's parents for the next week. The room we stayed in has a couple little stairs, and for some reason Baylee decided to put on some of my clothes and act out a scene from Sleeping Beauty:

She actually does this a lot at home. She will lay on the stairs and close her eyes until Prince Phillip (aka Ben) comes and kisses her to wake her up. In the second picture she decided to add some of my shoes to her little ensemble. We have quite the little actress and drama queen on our hands.

I just couldn't resist taking this picture when both kids were asleep one night:

Monday, July 13th was my birthday. Ben got me this (along with some very yummy chocolate covered strawberries and bananas):

Kathy watched both kids so Ben and I could go get some breakfast, and also run some party errands. Baylee's cousin Mea was born about a week after Baylee, so we always thought it would be fun to throw them a party together sometime. Since we would be together a right before their birthdays, we knew this would be a great chance to make that happen! Things worked out so that we needed to do it Monday. So, Baylee got a birthday party on my birthday! We kept it pretty simple, and I was happy to have my sister-in-laws there to help us (especially Laura who filled all the water balloons!). Baylee even tried to help Ben fill up the kiddie pool:

Even if the pump wasn't attached, at least her intentions were good.

The Slip 'n Slide seemed to be a hit, even if Baylee and some of the younger kids didn't quite understand the concept:

The kids were all trying to get in the kiddie pool before it even had water:

We eventually broke out the water balloons so Ben could get the pool filled. They didn't last too long, but the kids really enjoyed them. Baylee kept squeezing them so would pop on her:

The older kids all reappeared when it was pinata time. Baylee actually had the same pinata last year. She was a little better at hitting it this year though:

Baylee and Mea, the birthday girls, enjoying their candy:

Then it was time for presents! All the littler kids were ready to watch:

Cake time! Kathy had a lady she knows make each of the girls their own Disney Princess cake:

The cakes were so cute!

Ben's grandma came for the reunion, which started Monday night. She was there for the girl's party. I loved seeing her with Payton:

Happy Birthday Party, Baylee and Mea!