Family pic 2013

Family pic 2013

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Payne Family Reunion - May 2013

We were excited that we could make it to the Payne Family Reunion in St. George a few weeks ago. My cousin Karen Taylor planned it all and it was so fun to see everyone and spend the weekend hanging out. There was a good turnout! The theme was the Payne Family Olympics so the first night we played games like croquet.

 Each family ran the torch around the yard
Love this picture of the uncles racing

The next morning we did a 5 mile walk/run/bike. It was a perfect, sunny morning and was so nice to get some good exercise. Tyson ran with me for the first 2 miles and then when I was dying, we walked the rest. Paul let the kids sleep in and then brought them to walk the last mile together. Lyla even got out and ran with me for a bit.
 We ran the last stretch to pretend we were tough

We all went out to breakfast after
 We spent the afternoon swimming at the rec center and then met together for dinner. Karen had put together a slide show and some fun games.


Our life lately

Life has been as crazy as ever lately, but here are some pictures of what's been going on. Not really in order:
 Watching Alyssa dance
 Back from Christmas break- cute cousins Lyla and Kaitlyn had fun together!

 The other day at the store we promised to get our kids a treat because they had been troopers as we spent 2 days driving 14 hrs and moving into our apartment. Trevor saw a package a donuts- which we have never purchased before- and he just had to have them. We decided to cave and even opened them so we could get thru the rest of the shopping, and he was the happiest little guy ever. Such a cute, mischievous little guy.

 Lyla loved dance this year and can't wait to start again. She had fun in her year end recital.

 We were very blessed to sell our house after 14 days on the market, which led to a whirlwind month spend packing, cleaning and figuring out where to live. This was our last morning in our house- the kids were eating breakfast halfway on the porch cuz it was raining but I didn't want them to get the house dirty. It was really hard for me to drive away from the house that we have lived in for 3 years and spent so much time in. We've worked so hard in the yard and I love all of our plants. Paul slaved over the fence which has been nice to let the kids play in the back alone. I love the layout and all of the conveniences like granite and my big kitchen. The basement was so nice for all of the kids' toys, especially in the summer when it was nice and cool down there. Who knows when we will own a house again, and it was sad to drive away and try to explain to Lyla what was going on.
This was Lyla attempting to hug the wall when I said we had to leave.


In april we went down for Jared and Allison's graduation. We are so proud of them and it was fun to see them walk together. The kids did fairly well- I didn't have to leave the ceremony until the last 2 minutes when Trevor was completely distracting everyone around us.
Every once in awhile when they aren't pushing or scratching each other, Trevor will run up to Lyla and beg for a hug. Melts my heart:

When we were taking a million pictures, the kids entertained themselves by smelling the beautiful flowers on campus. Trevor had to go up to each one, carefully hold it, and smell it. Then he would say "mell!" and run to the next one.

This face perfectly describes my sweet little rebel. When we asked the kids not to pick the flowers, Lyla deliberately grabbed one and made sure I was watching as she picked each petal off. Oh I hope I survive her teenage years.
Trevor and Papa are buddies. Trevor LOVES him and is always begging to talk to him on the phone, and then he'll just say "papa" over and over.
Crazy sibs. Miss ya Jean!!
During that visit, my mom and I escaped for a few minutes to go to Women's conference. the classes we were able to make it to were so wonderful, it was a nice break. We also left the kiddos with my dad in the evening and went to the concert- such a fun day!
We stayed in Utah til my birthday because Paul was at convention for work. Everyone went with us to the zoo to celebrate how old I'm getting, and the kids loved it! It was a hot day and I barely survived walking up and down the hills in the heat. How am I going to survive Arizona again? :)


My handsome little guy
Trevor especially loves my parent's hammock. He could just lay there for hours if we'd let him!




29 years old! Hopefully next May never comes...can't believe I'm almost 30!
Trevor trying to put the candles out with his diaper rash cream tube
Lyla working on her splits



Playing in our bathtub before church- one of those rares days when we were actually all ready with a few minutes to spare. And i think we even did it without Paul's help cuz he was at his meetings!

The young men recently did their annual fundraiser of power raking and aerating. To try to get thru the long evening when the guys were gone, we went to the museum with our good friends. There was an exhibit on carousels and the kids loved it! Unfortunately Trevor was too young to ride, but Lyla loved riding with her best friend Allie. I think leaving Allie will be the hardest part of this move for Lyla- they are very similar so they fight sometimes, but they love each other and can't get enough play time together!