Title Town USA

My apologies for the delay. As you know, I'm a born prograstinator and I don't have a good excuse. I will just try to post more often as these precious moments happen so fast and often.

Payne had a wonderful year playing football this season. The Fairfield Bulldogs went undefeated, going 7-0-1 this year. Payne learned a lot, had tons of fun with his school mates and took home another football trophy. We won the "Souper Bowl"(fundraiser for the YMCA where you donate soup to help feed the less fortunate) with a 14-0 win and the boys were excited. We had an end of the year party this past Sunday and we'll try to post some pictures of that soon.



We had a fun evening with the kids tonight. We were eating pizza and Laura mentioned that an old friend saw Payne at a Louisiana Tech football game and said he was a very handsome boy. Payne immediately became embarrassed and we teased him a little bit, asking him if he had a girlfriend. Of course he replied, "No!". Laura then asked Abby if she had a boyfriend and she said, "Yes but I broke up with him." Laura and I both fell out laughing. Come to find out that Abby's "boyfriend" is Laura's cousin Ken and Abby often refers to him as her boyfriend. I picked up the phone and pretended to call Ken to tell him that his "girlfriend" had broken up with him. Abby became serious and said, "I'm only joking. I didn't really break up with him. Don't tell him."

Payne and I have been going to a bible study on Monday nights called BSF. It has been wonderful, especially for Payne and he is really learning God's word. He really has a knack for memorizing bible verses. When we got home tonight, Payne brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. We said our prayers and Payne wanted to say some additional prayers. He prayed for our bible study and then prayed that the devil would get nicer. When we finished, he said he liked to make up prayers. When I told him that we should pray all the time he said," I say prayers in my head all the time except sometimes I have to stop to concentrate when I do math." I laughed out loud when he said that. Both of the kids provide us with such joy and funny moments!

Great Weekend

We had a really wonderful weekend. Friday night I went to dinner with some neighbor girls and we had a great time laughing and eating. Saturday morning, I was up at the crack of dawn to walk with Mom and Helen in Race for the Cure. We were walking in honor of some incredible women. My Mae Mae (my dad's mom) is a breast cancer survivor for over 5 years. Toya's mom has been fighting for almost a year. Aunt Linda will have a year under her belt in the next month or two. My dear friend Kori will have one year in October. This disease truely amazes me. It can strike anyone at anytime. It was an honor for us to walk for this cause as members of Kori's team, the La Dee Ta Ta's. Saturday night we went to Ruston to watch Louisiana Tech take on Navy. Abby and I stayed for the first half and us leaving may have been the cause for the Bulldog's loss. Maybe they couldn't play to their abilities without their cutest cheerleader! Sunday we went to Sunday School and Big Church. Chris and I helped with Abby's Sunday School class. Abby went to Children's Chapel all by herself and had a great time so Helen gave her a prize of a Ken doll. She was super excited because now her Barbies have a boyfriend. Ken is a player!


I was talking with Chris last night about my Saturday. I told him that I have never really considered myself an overly emotional person. I will cry at the occasional episode of Boston Med or even when I see the Friends Series Finale. But most of the time, I consider myself pretty even. I don't cry at weddings or during a babies baptism or sweet moments like that. I didn't cry during my wedding or after my kids were born. Don't get me wrong, I love those moments, but I don't get all weepy. On the Payne side of the family, I am in the minority of women. Most of them cry often. My sweet Aunt Linda, she is a crier. She cries during Grace at family events and I absolutely love that about her. My mom cries (most of the time at really silly things - like the fact that she believed Payne would accidently swollow his loose tooth while he slept and would choke to death and we would never know). I still find that one funny. And my cousin Amanda, let's just say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree for Aunt Linda's daugher. I remember my wedding day and Amanda was a basket case right before she was to walk down the isle. Daddy and I were just looking at her in shock. I thought we would have to put her at the back of the line, but she miraculously pulled it together RIGHT before the doors opened. All this to say that somehow I didn't get that gene. Or at least I thought I didn't get that gene.

Saturday morning before the Race, they had a survivor parade. All the survivors lined up and danced to "I will Survive." We were cheering and clapping and yelling. Then I see it. I see Kori dancing. She was smiling and waving her hands in the air. I cried. I don't mean a little tear in the corner of my eye, I'm talking about mouth quivering, nostrils flaring, big tear crying. I was so excited for her and I feel so blessed to have her as a friend. In her first email to friends and family after she was dignosed, she said that her hope is for one day when we look back at this time in her life, the one thing we will remember is that she praised God throughout her entire journey. I can say without a doubt that she has. She is such an inspiration.

My friends are amazing. I have no doubt that if I ever needed anything, they would be there for me before I even would have the chance to ask. There are 5 of us that met in college at Tech. We are sorority sisters. I will forever be in debt to Alpha Chi Omega for bringing them into my life. Becca, Kim, Ashley, Kori, and I don't get to be together as a group very often but when we do, I always am reminded of what I have. True friends.

I think that is enough of a sappy post. Have a great week!

You Wouldn't Know Cool...

Payne and Laura had a fun conversation this past weekend concerning his need for a haircut.

Laura: You and Daddy are going to get a haircut before your football game.
Payne: But I don't want to get a haircut. I want my hair long.
Laura: Why?
Payne: I want it to go over one of my eyes.
Laura: That would look bad.
Payne: No that would look cool.
Laura: That's not cool.
Payne: You wouldn't know cool if it hit you in the head.

I laughed out loud when Laura told me that story. Payne and Abby have both become fascinated by Justin Bieber(or Justin Beaver as Abby calls him) and his hair. By the way, Payne got his hair cut and it looks much cooler than Justin Beaver.




Payne had his first football game of the season this past weekend. Payne's team won 28-7 and they all did very well. I signed Payne up for a "performanced based football contract" and promised him one dollar for every flag he pulled. This got him very excited and he did a great job, pulling three flags, all for losses. Best three dollars I ever spent and he hopes to make a lot of money this season. I know he will! He also did a good job on the offensive line setting up some good blocks. He is having a blast.



Payne also had some special visitors as Mimi and Pepaw(Buddy and Toya) came to watch. Abby got to cheer on her big brother and got to spend some fun time with Mimi and Pepaw on the sidelines. Then after the victory, we went to celebrate by eating lunch at Strawn's. Payne didn't want to try the chocolate pie until I convinced him to take a bite. After that, he didn't need any more convincing. He tore the rest of that pie up!

God is Grace and Other Family Moments

Something that always brings a smile to our faces is when we say grace before a family dinner. Payne and Abby always argue over who gets to say grace. Usually they both get a turn to avoid arguments. But when it's Abby's turn, she always begins "God is grace, God is good, let us thank him for our food". It always cracks me up and is so true. Not only is God great but He is also grace too.


Abby began her first week of ballet. First lesson, "Pretty feet, yucky feet" and she shows us how her feet are supposed to be. Lesson two, "pretty ballerina, yucky ballerina" and shows us her posture. Isn't she a pretty ballerina?




We went down to False River for Labor Day weekend. We had a lot of fun and the kids had a blast on the water. Payne said he set a "False River Record" for the longest ride on the tube while Abby said "I love it when we go kinda fast but not too fast" on the jet ski.

Random dinner conversation

It has been a pleasant evening. Not too hot outside. I actually caught Payne and Abby playing very very well together. I tried to sneak up on them and actually get proof that them being nice to each other does exist. Payne was attempting to teach Abby to throw the nerf football and he was so excited and proud when she would catch the ball and once he told her how great of a throw she made. It was so sweet to witness. It was short lived but at least I got to see it happen.



When we sat down for dinner we talked about our days and eventually this little conversation took place. I'm not sure where the Chris' question came from but it was funny to me.

Chris: Abby, do you have a father?
Abby: No
Chris: You don't have a father?
Abby: No
Payne: You have a heavenly father.
Abby: Yeaaaaa, but he died!

Our weeks are slowly getting busier. Payne has football practice twice a week (Wednesday and Friday) and Abby is starting ballet lessons on Thurday. Chris has Bible study on Mondays so nights at the Weego house are about to get crazy! So I guess that leaves Tuesday nights with all of us being home at the same time. I have a feeling that the fall will fly by.

Happy As A Family Origin and First Day Of Class

I'm a born procrastinator so it should be no surprise that I'm late on posting on this blog. Laura and I have talked about doing this for a while, but for one reason or another, we never got it off the ground...until now. Kudos to Laura for getting the ball rolling and I hope that we can collectively add to the site(She is much better at writing than she admits and is certainly a better photographer.)

In my mind, I view this as a public diary of sorts to remember those precious moments of our lives, especially in relation to our children as they grow up. There are many things that Payne or Abby did or said that I wished I had written down. Many I remember but a lot are lost in my somewhat forgettable mind. My hope is to look back many years from now and be able to read, laugh and share in these times.

Credit for the name of the blog should go to Payne. The phrase was one of those cute sayings and has become sort of a family mantra. When he was three or four, we were preparing to go somewhere when he asked if we were going "Happy As A Family", meaning, were all four of us going together. We laughed and the phrase has stuck within our crew. Over the past several years, whenever we were going somewhere together, one of us would inevitably say, "We're going Happy As A Family". I think it finally sunk in the other day when Abby, our four-year old asked if we were going somewhere Happy As A Family. When she asked that question, Laura and I looked at each other and just smiled. We couldn't think of a better title for the blog and I hope we have years and years of Happy As A Family moments.

Well I guess I've rambled on long enough. I'll fastforward to present day.

Payne started 2nd grade this week and Abby moved to the "oldest" kid class at her daycare. They were both excited and of course we had to capture the moment. We started a tradition of taking the kids picture on the first day of class each year. We have them pose by the tree in our front yard which was newly planted when we moved to Shreveport a little over three years ago. We thought it would be neat to see them grow together over the years(Payne still thinks he'll grow taller than the tree). Below are the pics from the last three years. We keep telling the kids to stop growing but they just won't do it.

Weekend with the cousins

It's Friday night and Jilian, Buddy, and Anna have come to stay for the weekend. The Dewster (aka Dewey, Marilyn or my Mom) has had all of them all day. She has had a blast! We all had a gourmet meal at the Dairy Queen (Payne's choice) and for dinner we had another gourmet meal of a target frozen pizza. I promised the Dewster that we would not have to ever have that again.

When I got home from work, the older kids put on an amazing magic show. We had to buy tickets for $.25 in order to see. No refunds were offered because the show was incredible. It was worth the money paid!

We are in the process of trying to wear out the children out so they are playing on the blow-up water slide. So far, no injuries have occurred. We will have movie night later this evening complete with popcorn and pallets on the floor. Lots of stuff planned for tomorrow. I will try to update then.

First Entry

I'm a blog stalker. There, I said it. I LOVE to read other blogs. I can't really figure out if I think anyone (other than my family) will find this one at all intersting but I figured at the very least it will help us remember the things we have been up to. It has been a pretty busy summer and it has really flown by. Payne will be starting second grade in less than two weeks and it amazes me how much he has grown and changed in the past year. He will be playing football for the second time this fall and he is really looking forward to it. I need to get Abby signed up for ballet lessons but I'm not sure where to go. There are plenty of options in Shreveport and I'm not a dancer so I don't really have an opinion.

I have been on vacation at home with the kids this week and we have really had fun. We went to Baton Rouge Monday and stayed with my BFF Ashley. Abby and Mary-Avery played very well together and Payne and Owen did for the most part. The kids entertained each other so me and Ashley got to do a lot of visiting. We went to the aquarium in New Orleans on Tuesday. The kids thought it was neat. I have decided that fish don't really impress me too much. Some were really pretty and some were really creepy. They had a huge eel that was the ugliest thing I have every seen. We tried to go see the Saints practice but they were closed due to incliment weather. I guess it was too hot for them to be outside. I don't really blame them. It was super hot.

Tuesday night we spent the night with Amanda, Jason, and Addy. We all love to see baby Addy. We came home pretty early Wednesday and have been laying low. We went to eat lunch with my mom today and we have nothing planned for tomorrow.

OK-first entry done! Yay! Chris is a much better writer than me so hopefully he will be writing most of this blog. I got tired of waiting for him to do the first one so hopefully he will read this and be embarassed enough to do the rest of them from now on.