Our Big Adventure

Saturday night we went on a "BIG ADVENTURE". I told Kent on Thursday night that we had plans for Saturday night, but that it was a surprise. On Saturday morning, I gave the kids an invitation to go on a big adventure with me. Then I gave them their first clue. All throughout the day, I had them earn clues. The poor kids, of course they had to earn the first several clues by doing their Saturday jobs. Later that afternoon, one of their clues was a map. So we got in the car, and had to find the place on the map. It lead us across town to have dinner at Cafe Rio. It was yummy.

The next clue was another map that lead us to the Trax station. We were supposed to all get on the train, but it ended up that I had miscalculated how much it would take for us all to ride. We decided that we would just drive to our next destination. We had one little devastated boy (Reed) when we said we weren't going to ride the train. So, Kent ended up taking the boys on the train, and the girls drove in the car. Before we left, I gave the kids the last clue- tickets to the Salt Lake Bees game. We have wanted to go to a game all summer, and a friend of mine from work gave me tickets. I was excited. So off we went to the Bees game.

We had a really fun time at the game. The weather was beautiful, and we had good seats. The kids did get a little restless after awhile, so we got up and walked around for a few minutes. There were a lot of open seats, so we moved down to the bottom. It started raining, but it was not too bad. We got REALLY lucky, and Kent caught a ball. We were all pretty exited about that. Thankfully I had packed his mitt for the adventure!

We did not make it to the end of the game, but got close. As you can tell from our family picture, Morgan was DONE! I was impressed that they did as well as they did. We left the stadium, and on the way home, we all got Slurpee's for a treat. We had such a good time. It was great to have a day full of fun. Needless to say, the kids were beat when we got home, but we got them right to bed, and even made it to church on time the next morning.

 

 I had to add this little piece of video. Morgan is so funny. She was doing this to McCray for a couple of minutes before I got my camera. McCray is so patient with her. I wouldn't let her do that to me. He even took his hat off for her. Maybe she has a future in hairstyling?

08-08-08

McCray is so lucky. His birthday was 08-08-08. Not everyone is lucky to have one of those birthdays. Now if he turned 8, that would have been even cooler, but he is only 6. That is ok. He is already getting big way too fast for me. We had a week of celebrating. We had a bar-b-que a couple of days before with Grandma Payne and Erin were there with us. We did presents then because I had to work on Friday night, and that was the only time we were all home at the same time.

It is always so funny to watch when kids open their presents. The other kids mobbed him, and wanted to assist with the present opening. I could hardly get a picture because they were surrounding him. I guess it's fair, because they all do that to each other.

McCray got a Maglite from Erin and Kelly. He thought that was pretty cool. I keep reminding that it is a "tool" and not a toy. He is pretty protective of it and loves to use it at night in his room.

McCray's big present was a new bike. He was pretty excited. His other bike was getting too small, but this one is a little big. It took him a couple of minutes, but got the hang of it pretty quickly. He was excited that it had 4 pegs on it- and hand brakes. I am just praying that he does not know what you do with those pegs. Hopefully he won't try any crazy tricks for a long time.

We didn't have a friends birthday party this year, but on Friday, we met some friends from playgroup, and went to play at McDonald's. It was a huge deal because the kids got Happy Meals. We are pretty sad. We never buy these, usually just a .99 burger, fries to share, and water. Cheap Mom. When I told McCray we were going to get Happy Meals, Cray asked, " Do we have enough money for that?" He was shocked. I made some little baseball cupcakes to share with the playgroup friends, and that was his cake for the year. They had a great time playing, and I got off easy with no real party.

This is Camille and her friend Susanna.

Morgan was pretty happy with her cupcake. Good thing I took the picture BEFORE she had it all over herself.

McCray is such a good big brother. He is always very patient and kind with Morgan. She goes to him and sweet talks him when she wants something.

Reed was excited about the Happy meal toy. It was a spy kit. He had no idea how to use it (me either really) but just the word spy made him think he was pretty lucky.

It is hard to believe that my little boy is 6. He is not so little, I guess he never has been really. He is such a tender hearted kid. He cares about others feelings. I am a little sad that he will be going to Kindergarten. We had him stay home an extra year, and I am SO glad that we did. He has matured so much, and is really ready to go now. I will miss having him home, but he needs to go. Thankfully it is only half day. He needs some friends his age, and to have some special things of his own to do. McCray loves sports, and is really pretty coordinated and good at whatever he tries. He is an easy, happy boy. He always has a huge hug for me, and as many kisses as I can handle. I am so blessed to be his Mom. Happy Birthday Cray!

Family Visit

We love living in Salt Lake . We get to see my family much more than we ever have before. Erin and her husband Kelly live here which is wonderful for us, and it is also a place where everybody comes. The last week in July/first week in August, we were able to spend a lot of time with my family. It was great. My parents were here from Florida at a conference. My Dad was able to stay for a few days, and my Mom stayed until August 9th. What a treat for all of us! While they were here, Carter was here as well, visiting from New Mexico. Jay, Ilene and Andrew who live in California came and surprised my parents with a visit. Everyone knew they were coming, except my parents, and it was a really nice surprise for them. They had not seen baby Andrew yet. Taylor and Krista came from Logan. All but 2 kids, and their families were here. We sure missed those who couldn't be here.

We were able to do some fun things while everyone was here. We had a couple of picnics in the park, did some shopping, hung out, and had a cookout up Big Cottonwood canyon one night. It was beautiful. Erin and Kelly cooked Jambalaya, and it was SOO yummy. They never disappoint when they are in charge of the cooking.

Camille was Aunt Krista's little shadow. One time, when asked what she was doing, Camille said that she was going to "go hang out with Aunt Krista." Is she old enough to "hang out"? She was so good to her. Our kids are so blessed to have aunts and uncles on both sides who are so sweet to them.

The kids had a ball playing in the dirt and rocks. There was a cave nearby, so they got to do a little exploring too.

Jay, Ilene, and Andrew. Andrew is the cutest baby with the best smile! It was so much fun to get to see them all for a few days!

Mom is the best! It was so nice to have her here for a little while. Poor thing, she got put to work! She helped me tackle my never ending laundry nightmare, and gave some good suggestions to help me. Also, a challenge to actually DO IT! She must be my Mom, because she knows me well. :) I loved getting to visit and just spend time together. We used to always do projects together when she came. We chuckled at the fact that life is so busy now, at the stage that I am in with our kids, that there never seems to be enough time to do those fun projects anymore. Someday.

It is always so nice to have Carter come visit. He and Erin were so good to me- they took the kids to the movie and the park one afternoon, and I had free time for a few hours. It was heaven! Guess what I did? I finished sewing a project that I have been working on. Ahh! What a thoughtful thing for them to do for us. We are so blessed to have great families. We are having a Payne reunion in Albuquerque in September. I am really looking forward to getting together again!

Clean-up Motivation

I was talking to my sister-in-law Joy about some ideas I have to help our kids clean up. It is always a struggle of course, because we are just like every other family. I don't think anyone LIKES to clean up, including me.

   

 I remember as a kid when my room was so messy, I would just sit there, not knowing where to start in cleaning it up. My mom would eventually come down and sit with me and tell me where to start and what to do. It helped to break it up and do little bits at a time. I still feel this way. If the job feels huge, I don't even know where to start. If an adult feels this way, you know kids do too. So these are some things I do to help the kids when they are cleaning up.

   

 1) This is a trick that I use A LOT. I learned it when I taught school. I choose an item. Then I tell the kids that whoever can find my item, wins. The kids run around cleaning up, until I say that someone has found my item. Of course, I never tell the kids who found my item until after the whole job is done. Sometimes the person that finds my item gets a small treat, sometimes a high five, sometimes a hug, sometimes they are just the "winner," whatever the prize is for the day. You can play this multiple times in one room. When our family rooms gets really messy, I break it up into categories. For example, first I choose an army guy, and then they clean up all the army guys. Then we do all of the cars, then the books, etc. I tell them who the winner is after each category which motivates them throughout our whole game. 2) Sometimes I do progressive rewards. I start with a small job. When they finish it, they get something. Then I give the next job which is a little bigger, and a little bigger reward after they finish that job. The rewards are always small, but they can still motivate our kids. Some things I have used when desperate for help- 3 Mini marshmallows 5 chocolate chips 1 BIG marshmallow skittles a sticker a starburst a nickle five pennies a hug gum a story Keep it little so that the expectations stay low. 3) Have the kids decide what needs to be cleaned up, and let them choose what jobs they want to start with. Let them choose the order that they clean up. (as long as they do it, I guess) 4) I think one of the biggest things is to work with them. Every job is so much easier when you work together. Our kids are getting better, where they can do things without constant supervision and help. But when it is really big and bad, I have found that working with them is the best way to get it done without having to get frustrated and upset at them when they don't do it. I certainly DO NOT claim to have it down, or have a clean house. You all know that. But these are some things I can think of right now that have helped us. What things do you do?