Birthday Reunion

Payne got invited to a birthday party for one of his school buddies today. They held it at the Elks Club swimming pool which was perfect since we've had 100 degree temperatures for the past million days in a row. However, Mother Nature had a different idea as we had a late evening pop-up shower complete with lightning. It didn't rain hard but the lightning was enough for them to clear the pool out.

However, that never stops a bunch of boys from having fun. Payne and his buddies/teammates Riley and Braeden proceeded to entertain the crowd by dancing to the music playing over the pool sound system. After the dancing died down, a impromtu baseball game broke out amongst the boys as they can always find a way to entertain themselves. Payne has great classmates and I am so glad he has so many friends from school. I think it may actually get him excited to go back to school.

Found Some Older Pics

Was digging through some older pics the other day and found these from earlier in the summer. They were so cute that I had to post.

Payne and Abby decided to have a lemonade stand so we grabbed some lemonade at the store along with some poster board for them to make a sign. I helped make the lemonade while Payne went to work outside on the sign. I set up a table and gave him some duct tape to hang up the sign. That's when I noticed the wording on the sign. Hilarious! They did it all on their own!

Their friend William from down the street rode by and decided to help them. He was a master salesman, pulling in people from a Parade of Homes house two doors down and we quickly ran out of three huge pitchers of lemonade. I'm sure the "cuteness" helped the kids in their enterprising business. It was big success.

San Francisco and Time At The Beach

Laura got a chance to go to San Francisco for the first time when she went to visit her stepmom who was working there temporarily for the last few months. She and our niece Taylor and her Aunt Suzanne flew out there and had a great time. They also got to meet up with Laura's cousin Rachel who recently moved to San Fran. I was extremely jealous as the temperatures there were in the 70's while we've been battling 100 degree temps here back home. I'm glad she had a great time and got to see some interesting places while there.

We also got to go to Florida briefly recently as part of a business conference with my work. Laura, Payne, Abby and I all made the 10-hour trek each way to Panama City Beach. Unfortunately, it rained the first two days we were there so it made it tough being stuck in the room with two active children. Plus, the first night, our room was EXTREMELY small making it a tight fit but luckily we were able to upgrade to a much bigger room the rest of the trip.






We finally made it to the beach on the third day but it wasn't exactly as we had hoped. My conference was at a hotel but it was on the bay and had no direct beach access. We had to catch a boat ferry for a 20 minute ride to get to the beach. It was very deserted with no restrooms and no concession stands, etc. The kids didn't notice though and had a great time splashing in the gulf. Not the ideal beach trip but I'm glad we were able to go and spend some family time together. I love any time that I can spend with my wonderful wife and kids:)

Easy As Riding A Bike

I must admit that I'm a bit arrogant when it comes to my prowess of teaching a child how to ride a bike. The first day that we decided to take the training wheels off of Payne's bike, I had him off and riding within 10 minutes(Okay, he did all the work but I took the glory). I thought it was the easiest thing in the world.

But I have been humbled by a five-year-old girl. The beautiful thing about my children is that they are so much alike but they are also so different. Abigail requires a total different tactic than Payne and I am slowly learning that. She has been brave as we have taken the training wheels off and started working with her on mastering her biking skills. However, I thought I would have her off and running in the same amount of time as the Paynester. Not so fast.

Abby constantly turns to make sure I am not letting go and has mastered the art of applying the brakes quickly and often. I will have to slowly build up her confidence but I know she can do it. We'll try to keep you up to date on her progress and I know soon she'll be off and running. These are some pictures of our first day.

We're getting ready to head to the beach so hopefully we'll have some pictures of us in Florida. We are all looking forward to the trip and I know we'll have a great time. Laura's already "brown as a turkey" having gone earlier this summer on a girl's trip. Maybe we'll catch up with her on this trip.

P.S. Laura and I went with some friends to see the movie Horrible Bosses and laughed so hard. Definitely an adult movie but there are so many funny lines. We had a great time.

Fourth of July Trip

We had a great time down at False River at the annual 4th of July get together with Laura's family. Got some good relaxation, ate some great food and, along with Rusty, won the World Cornhole Championship. Life was good.



We were able to do some tubing and had a good time. Abby tried it for a while but decided after a bit that she didn't enjoy it anymore. I was proud of her for trying. Her expression lets you know that she was not having fun anymore. Mine was very similar.



Payne got to ski for the first time and after several attempts, finally got up on the skis. He had an absolute blast once he got up. We were so proud of him. His facial expressions are the best!



Thanks to the Spain's for hosting and letting us enjoy a little bit of the river life. Good times!