A Quick Update with Some Funny Kiera stories

So, since we have gotten back from Idaho we have all been very busy. Jason had to get back into work and prepare for going back to school. This included looking up loan information, registering for classes, getting books, and buying a new laptop since our old one doesn't meet standards anymore. I have been trying to catch up on the house, get Kiera into a schedule now that I am home all day, start up my weekly scrapbooking, set up a blog, and get back into my primary calling. As of right now, the major stresses are: Primary activity on the 30th and getting the primary program that is coming up in Nov. I am learning so much in my new calling! Now Kiera, she keeping herself busy as well. She loves to climb and explore...that girl is never still. She still loves to use her voice and loves to see how high it can get, which can hurt everyone's ears within the vicinity. She has started to think that when mom is cooking dinner is a good time to get clingy and demand to be held. For all those mothers out there, I'm sure you know how difficult it can be to cook and hold a kid at the same time.

So a few quick stories of my darling baby girl:

Kiera has taken a liking to the pet door in our kitchen. Out cat Lynx pretty much never leaves the door, the cat is Lazy, but we love him still. Anyway, since he is out there, and Kiera LOVES animals, she has discovered that she can see him through the cat door. Then she figured out how to open the cat door so that she stick her hand out and pet him. This of course drives Lynx insane because he wants to come inside so bad and the doors is open, but he can't get in. If you look really closly you can almost see him on the other side...its a little spooky. We thought Kiera looked so funny though. Another story that shows how much our baby girl loves animals...the other day we went over to our friends house, and they have a dog. They have been training him and trying to get ready for the new baby coming into their lives (which was yesterday, Aug 21. They have a beautiful baby boy!!!) anyway, so we put on the floor and let them kind of start playing with each other. This started with Bud, the dog, smelling her and liking her all over the face. Crazy thing is Kiera laughed and would just let out a high squeal. For the next several minutes he would come up to her, she would squeal, he would leave, and then she would chase him. By the end of the night Bud was probably more scared of Kiera than Kiera was of him...

Kiera has now learned how to open our shower door. So the other day I decided that I was going to take a shower. Now at this time I will get some toys for Kiera and close the door and watch her play. So things started out as usual and then Kiera came up and opened the door to the shower, I just close it back up and tell her she doesn't want to come in there, she would get wet. Well, Kiera decided that she did want to get wet. She continued to open the door, so I thought I would just wait and see what she would do. Sure enough, she climbs in, crawls through the water coming down and to me. She got herself drenched, I couldn't believe she actually did it. Crazy kid.

I've already shown you a picture of Kiera under a laundry basket, well just to show you how much she loves laundry, below are some pictures. She climbed into the laundry basket by herself and started to playing with my clean clothes. For some reason she loves to play with them, pull them out, put them over her head, it really entertains her.

Then, even when there aren't any clothes in the baskets, she still climbs in. The other day she got caught under one and started crying. So I free, put the basket right side up again, and two seconds later, she was crying for freedom again. Now, the sock in her mouth in the picture below, is clean I promise...something else she loves to do, usually it is with her stuff animals.

Joining the rest of the World

Well, I thought it was about time to join the rest of the blogging world and have one of my own. This is for all those loved ones that might want to be involved a little bit more in the daily activities of the Payne's. I will warn all now that our lives aren't that exciting, but I promise plenty of photo's of the best looking Payne.....me! No, I'm kidding, we all know that the best looking Payne is Kiera. She is much more exciting and enjoyable to look at than Jason and I. I will start by telling everyone of the exciting summer we have had...

Jensen Family Reunion

At the end of June Kiera and I got in a car with my Mom and three sisters and headed west to Idaho. We started out on a Sunday after church and were able to reach Idaho by Tuesday night. I felt so lucky that for the most part Kiera was very good. The worst was when it was time for bed at the end of the day, and all she wanted was her bed. I can't blame her though, I was feeling the same way. :0) When we reached Idaho we got to join up with everybody and Kiera got to meet everyone, some for the first time. We even were able to make it to her Grandma and Grandpa Payne's for a few hours. By Sunday morning my brother Jason and my Father had reached Idaho and we were heading up to McCall area to a 4-H Camp on Cascade. For the next few days we were able to enjoy the water with Jet Ski's and Boats. I enjoyed the Jet Ski's personally, but I made sure that Kiera got to play down by the water. Other activities of the family reunion also consisted of playing games till 2 in the morning, making crafts, and playing Rock Band. We all had so much fun! Kiera enjoyed being outside. She was also able to receive some stuff animals from Grandma Theresa, along with all the other younger grandchildren and great grandchildren. I believe all the kids had a lot of fun.

We left McCall on Wednesday, July 2. On July 4th the entire Jensen clan got back together at my Aunt Bonnie's for swimming, food, and fireworks. Kiera enjoyed the water in the pool a lot more than she did the water in the lake. She also enjoyed spending some quality time with Grandpa, aunts, her uncle, and cousins. My Cousin Jeremy's kids loved Kiera, we had a lot of fun hanging out with them!

July 5th everyone but Kiera and I left to go back to Indiana. Kiera and I stayed and spent almost two weeks with my Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Ray, and Cousin Jessica. We really enjoyed our quality time there, talking and watching Jane Austin movies. Over the weekend Jessica, Kiera, and I went to Provo, UT to see Marianne, Katie, Jeff, and Aunt Rosie Bell. We got to watch Katie perform and went shopping with the girls. I was so grateful for the time I had to build my relationships with some of my cousins.

Camping with the Payne's

July 17th Jason flew in to Boise to see Kiera and I. After four weeks of being apart we were happy to be a family again. We then went to see Grandma and Grandpa Payne to finally spend some quality time with them and the rest of the family. While there we all went camping. We went up to Hazard, where we all were able to fishing, hiking, and play games. Kiera was able to help Mommy and Daddy fish a little bit. We had a fun time fishing and were even able to catch a lot of fish, but most of them were to tiny to keep. This was okay by me, since I don't enjoy eating fish anyway. We did keep some though and those that like fish were able to enjoy a good meal. The biggest story of course is our hiking trip though. Kiera was able to go with us, she got to ride on daddy's back. The hike was...an experience. The hike was up to Upper Hazard Lake. The first part wasn't so bad, there was a nice trail. But once we got to the Lake, Jason decided that he HAD to get a picture with the snow on the opposite side of the Lake. To get there, he thought it would be cool to take the path less traveled, so we went to the side of the lake no one goes to. By the time we were half way there we were all upset and ready to hurt Jason seriously bad. There was no good trail and the mosquitoes were HORRIBLE. I spent half the time swatting the stupid things away and the rest of the time worried about my baby being eaten alive! Luckily we made it through and we even got our picture with the snow in July! After this hike though, we all decided that we were never going to trust Jason to lead a hike again, and that the rest of this camping trip, we would take it easy and enjoy the fishing and the camp fire.

After camping we enjoyed a few more days in Boise with the Payne side of the family. We enjoyed hanging out and seeing each other. We took some time to go see Great Grandma Payne as well. The last picture is Kiera playing with the laundry basket, she got herself caught underneath it, I just had to include it. All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience and we look forward to seeing everyone again.