we decided to stay home and have our own fireworks :) mark was very excited about the big pack of fireworks he got with his groupon! we had such a fun night pulling out lawn chairs out on the drive way and having our own firework display and then sitting and watching the neighbors let off some BIG fireworks! what a fun night!
we had a great day celebrating the 4th of july and also having a little birthday celebration with aunt kerry, aunt dana and gaga and papa! we went to the hommes family pancake breakfast and parade in the morning and then headed home to play in the back yard, grill and have kya's bday celebration. she got a new ken barbie and a new glider for the swing set!!! 
we headed up to estes park for the day last friday with kerry, dana and gaga! it was such a fun day! we had a picnic in rocky mountain national park, we went on a nature hike around bear lake, we went down the giant slides, walked around town and got some yummy treats at lauras fudge shop!
we had a great night tonight just enjoying being together and soaking in the summer nights! 
life has been crazy. with the end of the year activities for both the girls i have not taken the time to sit and write how things are going with kinley. we have been SUPER blessed this summer to have been able to start kinley's "speech fund". we cannot express how amazing is has been to see so many people give so graciously to help toward kinley's costs of therapy! we have had many "angels" come into our life and bless our socks off! God is so good! it feel so amazing to have an account that is now just for kinley and her future with helping with this speech journey.!! thank you to everyone for all you have done! you are a TRUE answer to prayer!
kinley is doing SOO well! she is talking so much! a lot of it is babble, as she is in the phase most 12-18 month olds are in of experimenting with her voice. but the best part is she is really imitating A LOT! it is so fun to hear her TRY to repeat what we say! her list of words she uses has gone from about 10 words about 3 months ago to probably40- 50 words she uses on a regular basis. it is amazing! we have had A LOT of hurdles figuring out what works for kinley and i am not going to lie it takes A LOT OF HARD WORK! there are many days i want to quit but we keep pushing through and God is faithful! he gives us just what we need to keep going even when it is hard! it has been so fun to see kinley be able to communicate with others. she LOVES to try to be a part of a conversation ! we have a LONG road still ahead..but words cannot express how amazing it is to hear kinley say new words! when i think back to where we were only 3 months ago when she could not even say daddy....wow...it still brings tears to my eyes!
I cannot believe she is done with kindergarten! this year went soo fast! we were so blessed to have the world's greatest teacher. Mrs Crum was such a blessing for kya...we could have not have asked for a better teacher! kya and mrs crum had a special bond and there were tears from them both saying goodbye to each other. kya had a GREAT year and learned SOO much! kya blew us away with what she learned in kindie. she got pulled for the gifted math and reading and is now reading chapter books. it has been sooo fun to see her grow is other ways too. i love her heart and how she loves others DEEPLY. she will be the first to help or encourage her classmates. i am so proud her academics, but more importantly i am proud of her heart!! we love you kya payton
