Day 3-

What a day-not so many pictures but a great day nonetheless!

There was an Elder who served in the Spanish Group in our home ward who was having his homecoming this weekend so we thought it would be fun to go and say Hello and Goodbye. Elder Bengt Grua is one of my favorite Elders served in the area. We connected both being from Utah, he claims to love my cooking, and he cracks me up with the things he says, such as proclaiming, "Miracles are happening Bro. Payne, Miracles", and "it's Legit", which has actually caught on with the rest of the missionaries.

We were very surprised when as the meeting was to begin we all stood up and in walked our Dear Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Elder Grua's father is his Dr and has been very supportive of Elder Grua's Family. The girls know his name and that he is our prophet but at 4 & 6 not sure the magnitude of being in an intimate setting such as a sacrament meeting with the prophet is understood. It was a wonderful experience and for John and I cherished to be able to see and hear him speak. As he was leaving-when I asked Tyler to stand, she politely declined and said she needed to finish coloring. McKenna was a bit upset saying "Thomas S Monson can't leave, I haven't seen (met) him yet."

That afternoon-We returned to the Payne's and spend the morning with our Payne family until it as time for them to catch their plane.

We love our Grandma & Grandpa Payne and so glad we could spend a few days with them!

We then dropped in on Great Grandma & Grandpa Harris-to say "Hello", visit the horses and eat ice cream. Then we were a tad late to dinner with Aunt Amber and Uncle Norm & Uncle Mark. The food was wonderful and it was fun to spend some time with them.

Day 2-Payne Reunion

Day 2 began...

With meeting one of our new cousins

10 week old Baby Whitney Wahlstrom

Here she is with her sweet and beautiful Mom Amber

Then we have our Binki Babies-although Tate's getting a little big...

That afternoon it was a bittersweet reunion on Saturday as we all gathered at Fred & Marion Payne's house. Aunt Marion passed away last February and her birthday was July 15th and so we gathered to celebrate Marion's life and and share our memories of and with her. She was a grand and wonderful woman-who lived a beautiful, life-always opening her home to family and friends. We love her and miss her terribly!

We did take advantage of having so many of us together with a few pictures!

Our Favorite Photographer

The Don Payne Family (minus Jennifer) 2011

We had a great time seeing everyone!

The Man Cave Reformed-Barn Room

Wish I'd taken real Before pictures with all the junk, the exposed wood and that made up this little room.

As you can see not much room for much else besides John and his saw.

We then brought in the Big Dog to do the Decorating. We always put our guests to work and this time Grandpa had his work cut out for him.

The finished product:

The Artist: J. Don Payne aka Grandpa Payne

The Signing

Thanks Grandpa-it's better than anything we had ever imagined and the kids LOVE it!

While our cousins slept in their room the girls were able to break-in and enjoy the barn room as their sleeping quarters creating the perfect sleepover environment. They were soo excited!

After taking out the sleeping stuff and putting in Tate's Toys-he hasn't left the room and called his Dad up to show him his new play room and to have him play with him.

Like I said-the room is a HUGE hit and we Love it!

Grandpa Payne Comes!

Grandpa Payne flew in today to help take care of his sweet wife. John and the girls picked him up and they headed up to the Pacific Northwest Garden show. John said a great time was had by all! They had a Charlotte's Web theme and so there were animals, a piggy bank scavenger hunt with a prize of...tattoos. McKenna was a little disappointed to not get one of the piggy banks, but they still had a good time. Dad came home with bulbs and a beautiful Garlic storer, depaperer, and zester/crusher.

Being Saturday night we had the annual Payne Taco night.

It was a great day!

Grandma Payne is Here!

Our Grandma Payne is finally HERE! We're so excited although we all wish it was under better circumstances, she's having surgery on Tuesday for Knee Replacement.

The kids couldn't wait for her to get her here, can't wait to take care of her and her knee, and to go see her in the hospital.

It's been quite cold-so we've been couped up at home and she's been great to have around. The kids have had a lot of fun-playing toys, painting, coloring, and dancing! In the store Tate even grabbed her hand and preferred to go with her than hang out with Mom.

She took a test run on her set of wheels-and the kids thought it was a jungle gym with wheels

I hope we haven't worn her out too much! She might be looking forward to the excuse for a lil R&R. Right....

We're all a bit nervous with her, but she's ready to move forward! Good Luck Grandma!

Leithead Reunion

Halloween Night, Sunday Night we had a small Leithead Reunion as Uncle Scott, Aunt Pauline, Teandra and Ryan were up visiting. John's cousins Tracy, Jill, and Travis and their families all came and we had a lil Barbecue. It was fun to get everyone together and to catch up while the cousins played.

I honestly can't believe I forgot to get my camera out. I actually got to know John's cousins a little better, between that and watching after Tate I didn't even think about documenting the event. It was really fun to get everyone together and I hope it doesn't stop here.

I was slightly surprised we didn't get one trick or treater at our door.

Week 7/17/10

It was a busy week of preparation and fun.

Prep for Grandma & Grandpa Payne who were coming in this week and also prep for John and I for our big Race over the weekend, The reason for our Grandparent to come...and watch our kids for our getaway.

Grandma Payne flew in Tuesday morning, not soon enough for the girls who had been counting down the days for over a week-when I told them she was coming. Even Tate was exuberant about her being there and didn't hesitate in playing with her. There were Tea Parties and Puppet Shows and all sorts of fun.

Grandpa flew in Wednesday night and received another warm welcome. Thursday we spent the day at the Point Defiance Zoo-I love that Grandpa takes so many pictures, because I don't feel the need to get my camera out much and just enjoy the experience rather than trying to capture it.

Friday Morning the kids were practically shoeing us out the door so they could spend the day with their Grandparents. They went on walks, played in the yard, watched movies and even took a trip to McDonald's and Mudd Mountain Dam. I was glad to see that they were excited to see us come home and that we hadn't been replaced. Details on the race will be another post. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again. Hopefully our Babysitters will want to come back.

Monday & Tuesday were spent with John and his dad working in our basement-they finished or rather put up drywall and built me a beautiful wall of Food Storage shelves-they even found a wallet in the wall that had fallen in about 7 months ago. The Willits loaned us their pressure cooker and Mom taught me the art of canning meat. SOOOO Easy and I can't wait to taste it. Gotta get me one of those soon. I really want to start canning more and getting our storage together and learn how to make more stuff with all the wheat and rice we just bought.

Mudd Mountain Dam

Walks in the neighborhhod

Wednesday and the last day I'll report on was spent preparing for our upcoming trip to Utah! We did find a free/abandoned blueberry patch in Tacoma and then went to Pt Defiance to visit the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden. The rest of the day I did laundry and packed, and packed and packed...

Pt Defiance: Tacoma Garden & Japanese Garden

A big Thank you to Grandma & Grandpa Payne for coming out and taking care of the kids and for all your help. You teach us many, many things when you come and we value your time with us!