Our first family picnic! :)

Since it was such a beautiful day, we thought it would be a good time to go for a picnic.  So, we grabbed a couple sandwiches and went to Hoglan park.  We weren't sure how Payton would do on the equipment, but she LOVED it. 

She loved the swings!

First time going down a slide

Riding the horsey

Baxter Fun Days

My hometown's annual celebration (Baxter Fun Days) was the weekend of July 9.  It was definitely a marathon weekend, but lots of fun! 
We started the festivities with the Bethany Church supper at the school.  Next up was the Baby Contest in the gym.  We entered Payton and her category was "Boardwalk Babe."  My mom, Chad, and I all schemed to come up with a costume and props for her.  She wore a cute little top and leggings, a backpack filled with a water bottle, frisbee, and Ipod, and a visor.  She also had a little poodle that she was taking for a walk on the boardwalk and held an ice cream cone.  :)

On Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for the Fun Walk -- Payton's first 5K :)  After that, we went uptown for the parade.  Chad jokes that it only consists of horses and tractors (he is not too far off on that one).  After the parade, we came home for a bit and relaxed.  I put Payton down for a nap and then went to my friend Kaylan's baby shower.  She is anticipating the arrival of McBaby in September.

Next stop after the shower - my ten year reunion!  Can't believe it's been 10 years!

As you can see, a very busy and fun-filled weekend! 

Anniversary

Monday was our 2nd anniversary.  We didn't do anything too special on our actual anniversary, but we did celebrate last weekend by going to a Bed and Breakfast.  Chad had researched them and found one in Lynnville - the Linden House.  We left Friday afternoon, dropped Payton off at my parents, and then headed to Lynnville.  (This was the first time we had left Payton overnight, but we knew she was in good hands.)  We arrived at the Bed and Breakfast, checked in and dropped our things off, and then headed to The Depot in Grinnell for supper, which was fabulous!!  After dinner, we decided to see if there were any good movies playing since we hadn't been to a movie since before Payton was born.  We went to see Grown-Ups - hilarious!  We had an excellent breakfast in the morning, and then headed to Baxter to pick up Payton.  We ended up having a fabulous little get-away and a wonderful anniversary celebration.