Another Birthday Party...

This time it's Payton's turn to have a party - he turned 6 last week Thursday (6.26). For his birthday Craig and I got him a new bike. Saturday Craig and I took Payton and 4 of his friends to ChuckE Cheese's in Sioux Falls. He was also greeted by 3 of his cousins from Sioux Falls. It was a noisey ride ~ however the boys were very well behaved and seemed to have a ton of fun. We had reserved a table so Payton got involved in all of the ChuckE prizes for being a birthday boy. Craig was quite the trooper to help the boys play their games, get their tickets, and redeem their tickets for toys. I couldn't have survived the trip without him. He walked away from his party a very happy boy - as he has just added 5 new guns to his collection.

We also celebrated his birthday with our families ~ my Siblings (Nicole, Tristan, and Kristal) along with their spouse and children joined us along with Craig's sister-in-law (Jackie) and her three girls and also Grandparents and Great Grandparents. Each year I have decorated Payton's birthday cake (I don't cheat and have Hy-Vee do them). This year We made him a bat and ball cake. I say WE as Craig frosted and decorated the baseball cake - it turned out just as good as I would have done (if not better). I will be honest - I was a little hesitant to let him but I was desperate for the help. It was an awesome day, delicious food, and great company. Payton was anxious to get all of his presents opened and played with before the night was over. It's really amazing how much "stuff" they can accumulate each birthday, christmas, etc... Thanks to all for coming to the party - it was awesome.

Brandon, Collin, Payton, Ty, Corbyn, Jasmine, Riley, Alexis

Payton and Collin with Chucky

Batter Up...

Payton has been involved in many activities/camps this summer - one of them being t-ball. This is his second year playing and he really seems to enjoy it. I think he wishes he could be playing the coach pitch as the t-ball part is a little "young" for him. But practice won't hurt, right. A couple from Ruthton organize the t-ball and do an outstanding job with it. They seem to have a really good turn out each year - almost too many kids. The parents of the kids on each team help to coach them and place the kids in the outfield during defense and help with the line-up during offense. There are no "outs" and all players get a turn to bat each inning.

Happy 1st Birthday Andrea

I can definitely tell that summer has arrived. It seems as though we have something going on just about every weekend. This weekend we spent Saturday at my sister Nicole's (& Dan) house for Andrea's First Birthday Party. It was such an awesome day for a party. Some of the adults participated in a bean-bag tourney while the kids entertained themselves with bikes, chalk, swinging, etc... The weather was BEAUTIFUL!!! I must say that all of the kids were very well behaved. The birthday girl was looking cute as usual - she is the only "girl" (for grandkids) in the family so she tends to be labeled the "pretty girl". She dug right into her presents followed by her birthday cake of a ladybug. She LOVED it and finished just about all of it (before her Mom pulled it away).
We also got to see our nephew Jacob that we haven't seen for a few months and just can't believe how much he has changed - he is such a little man now. Jacob is my twin brother Tristan's (& Danielle) little guy. Can't wait to spoil him for a week this summer when his Mom and Dad go on vacation.
Payton was pretty much entertained with playing bean-bags the entire day. He kept count of his (hole-in-one's) and said he totalled 20 for the day. Pretty good for a (almost) 6 year old.
Brooks was on the go as usual whether he was riding bikes, swinging, throwing bean bags, or playing with his cousins - he kept himself entertained.

Yum Yum ~ Birthday Cake...

Andrea opening her presents...Jacob 16 months & Brooks 22 months

Brooks "CHEESE"...

Payton, Brooks, Jacob, AndreaBye Bye Jacob (Brooks hugging)

The Hess'

I was introduced to 'Blog Pages' quite some time ago - however never took the time to set my own blog page up. Well the time has come and now it's my turn to inform all of you on what goes on and what will be going on in the Hess Household. I am a person who likes to email and share pictures so I think that this will come in handy to share photos as well as updates on our lives.

A little bit about us...

Craig continues to be the owner of the bowling alley in Tyler and has also been working for Agro National (crop adjusting) for the last couple of years. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, softball, golfing, and of course spending quality time with his family.

I have been doing daycare out of our home for just over 2 years now. It's a nice benefit to staying home with your own children - however it's nice to get away from them once in awhile. My hobbies include scrapbooking, exercising, attempting golfing, fishing, and spending time with family and friends.

Our oldest son, Payton, will be turning 6 on June 26th. It's hard to believe how fast they grow. He has successfully finished Kindergarten and will go into the 1st grade this fall. He loves reading and often proves that he "is a reader and a writer". Everywhere we go he is spelling words and trying to read the signs. He is attending a language camp this month as well as t-ball, basketball camp, and vacation bible school. Payton has also enjoyed hitting golf balls at the driving range as well as golfing with his Gpa Brad and Gma Peggy. He will also be partaking in swimming lessons next month. He definitely keeps us busy.

Our youngest son, Brooks, will be turning 2 on August 26th. He trys hard to keep up with Payton and does a darn good job of it. We are working on potty-training ~ which surprisingly has gone pretty good. I am hoping to have it complete by the time he turns 2 and when the next addition arrives. His vocabulary continues to grow and grow everyday. Payton has him spelling his name. Payton will say "P", Brooks will say "P", Payton will say "A", and Brooks will say "Y" - he already knows what comes next.

A new addition is scheduled to arrive in Sept. - due date is Sept 16th. I know it would be wishful thinking to be done early - but I was 3 days early with Payton and 10 days early with Brooks so hoping the 'tradition' continues. It's a little early to start a count down but only 14 weeks to go. YEAH!!!

Payton @ Kindergarten Graduation 5.29.08

Brooks checking out the outdoors @ Gma Peggy's