Family Update

Hawai'i - January 2007

Payton got to play at the beach for the first time in Hawai'i. He loved to play with the sand and really wanted to eat it - even though his parents wouldn't let him. His trip was made even more memorable from Payton and his Daddy getting really sick and spending most of the trip resting and getting better. Payton did want to say Aloha! to all his family back on the mainland.

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Oregon - May 2007

Marcus lived in Oregon years ago, and his sister and family have been living there for years - Payton's Grandpa Mitchell lives there as well. (As in the great-grandpa that Payton got his middle name from). Payton enjoyed his first breakfast at the original "Original House".
Afterwards he was ready to blow out of there. And off we went to see the neighborhoods where his daddy grew up and see his elementary school and old houses. Megan and Payton enjoyed seeing all the greenery and lush forests with big trees.

Anthony and Tammy surprised all of us by coming up from Arizona and spending the weekend in Oregon as well. The rest of the time we spent with the Mauro family and Grandpa Mitch, and Payton's new friend, Brasilia - the dog. Payton was so excited that he not only used his baby sign language to say dog, but he verbally began saying "DOG, DOG, DOG, DOG!!!!" nearly everytime the dog walked in the room!

Did we mention that Payton was the star of the trip? Next time we might have to put him on a
plane by himself - as he was definitely getting all the attention from his cousins! He loved every minute of it though! He'd jabber away and tell them all sorts of stories!
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Payton's 1st Birthday and 4th of July

Payton had a great party with all of his family,

thanks to the tireless efforts of his Mommy, Megan and her overthetop safari party. Daddy and "Uncle" Drew did all the barbequeing and helped tame the wild animals (aka the cousins). Payton wasted no time digging into his banana bread "cake" muffins - and neither did the rest of the troops!



The kids went wild at this party, each was a little animal all of his own. There were lions, elephants, tigers, cheetahs, alligators and other safari animals running around.


Payton got to meet his cousin Annie from down in Georgia. We had to repeatedly tell the two that even if she is from the "South" they still shouldn't be making out. They had lots of fun playing with each other like Payton does with all of his cousins.



For the 4th of July, we all went to the Murray Parade to see the "floats", though there were only a handful of them this year. Payton sat leisurely in his stroller and watched with excitement as his cousins scrambled for candy and his parents tried to keep the taffy from pelting Payton. This parade has been a family tradition ever since Megan and Marcus were dating and first came, on one of their longest dates together!
Once it was dark enough, the family joined the neighbors in the circle by Papa and Grandma's house to watch fireworks. Mommy did most of the fireworks for our family this year - as daddy was avoiding "most" of the illegal fireworks this year. :)
Everyone had a fun time and remained safe for the holiday.
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Disneyland & Seaworld (Calif.) - July 2007

Marcus and Megan decided to use their little man, Payton as an excuse to take a trip to Disneyland. Payton got to meet all of Megan's idols - Pluto, Mickey, Goofy, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie, and Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie, Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore and a host of other characters, pirates and such. The scariest ride for Payton was Pirates of the Caribbean which started by getting his face wet - a big no, no in Payton's world. The tears were on and off the entire ride. Now when he rode the Haunted Mansion with ghosts and ghouls and such I think his daddy was closer to being scared than Payton. But the all time winner - (for Payton) was It's a Small World After All - which he got to ride a few times.

After a couple days of fun at Disneyland the trip moved to Seaworld where Payton got to see DOGS!! The dog show was a big hit as they performed their tricks in the mid-afternoon sun. Payton watched in awe as they ran across the stage and scurried through various obstacles. The Shamu whale show was fun as well - but nothing could compare to the dog show, where Payton was happily showing how to sign and say DOG, DOG, DOG, just as he did in Oregon earlier this year.

Back to California Adventure - an extended part of Disneyland - where Marcus and Megan got to enjoy some of the bigger rides and rollercoasters. Payton also spent some time with his Dutch "cousins" visiting from Holland. Bodewijn, Roderick and Eduart loved watching Payton and showing him the light parade at California Adventure.






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Summer Fun in Utah

Another first for little Payton - as he was able to go to the Witkamp Lake Powell family reunion this year. He spent all his time on Papas house boat or in the water next to it splashing in the water. He tolerated the heat really well and was loving running back and forth in the houseboat, as well as kicking his legs in the water.
He enjoyed the boat rides, minus the life jacket - but he tolerated it pretty well. He got to watch mommy and daddy waterski, and even got to see daddy wake board for the first time! We had a lot of fun on this annual trip and look forward to next year when Payton will be able to swim even more. Marcus and Klaas Jan had a lot of fun tubing - and with as many screams as Klaas Jan let out - Marcus couldn't stop laughing the whole ride.

This month we started doing some family hiking. With Payton's new backpack to ride on daddy's back - the whole family can enjoy a nice hike in the mountains. This trip we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Willow Heights. (One of daddy's winter camping areas).