An Incredible Man

I love Father's Day!  My dad is an incredible man and amazing father.  Still.  He has given me many reasons for many years to treasure a day to celebrate wonderful dads!  

Ryan is a wonderful dad.  He works hard.  Really hard.  He gets up early to exercise and spend time with the Lord.  He's at the office early.  Most nights we get to eat dinner as a family, and then he is often back up at the office after the kids have gone to bed working diligently.  He rarely complains.  He remembers to laugh with the kids and have fun.  He keeps special treats in the house.  He leads us in family worship most evenings.  He is strong, smart, disciplined, wise, faithful, funny, and hard-working.  The kids and I had fun planning special things to celebrate a special dad.

Father's Day breakfast and gifts!  

Make a funny face! =)

His Father's Day book for this year: What Do You Do With a Problem?   Ryan read this at Barnes & Noble one day and really liked it, so he made our book choice pretty easy this year!

Patiently encouraging Rooke during his last golf lesson.

Taking a break from the kids to make me feel special on our last Minot date night.

Surprising me with a new hat he knew I'd love because I really needed one (okay, this has nothing to do with him being a wonderful dad, but he's still a wonderful guy!).

Surprising the kids with water guns, and then spontaneously initiating a water fight to close out a beautiful summer night!

Water Fun!

The weather has warmed up enough in the past couple weeks to enjoy playing outside with water - hooray!  The kids love jumping on the trampoline with the hose.  And Kevin and Deborah brought the kids a slip-n-slide, so we've set that up and had a great time playing in the backyard!

The kids snagged some tiny water guns and had fun trying to get their daddy wet =)

The pool on base is open!

One evening, when Ryan got home from work, the kids were still outside on the slip-n-slide.  Being the awesome dad that he is, he quickly changed into his swimsuit and ran outside to join them . . . he's the best!

I eat as much watermelon as possible when the weather heats up.  I still think of my Nana and our watermelon eating in the hot Texas summer (watermelon pics and video of Rooke eating with Nana).  Bridgette is strongly committed to leaving no pink uneaten on her rind!

And just for laughs . . . who was eating across the table from you last night?! =)

Grammy and G-Daddy Visit North Dakota!

Grammy Deb and G-Daddy drove up for a visit a few weeks ago!  They'd not been to Minot since we've lived here, and were committed enough to squeeze in a trip before we move.  We enjoyed some nice weather play days and an overnight trip to Medora.  

We took Kevin and Deborah to the Scandinavian Heritage Park, but had never been in to the visitor's center.  Who knew there was a ginormous stuffed bison inside?!  Whoa!

We enjoyed a beautiful picnic lunch and walk through Oak Park one afternoon.  

I love how much Kevin and Deborah enjoy simple walks with the family.  We went for several walks through the neighborhood, to the playgrounds, in parks . . . the kids loved it!

A little geocaching in town led us to this fun spot on campus.

Deborah has taught U.S. History to high schoolers for years.  I appreciate how intentional and thoughtful she is to pass on her knowledge to the kids in fun and interesting ways, not to mention her support of our homeschooling journey.  Gretchen was the first to try out a quill pen!  

Exploring Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora.  First we had a picnic lunch and then did a short hike through the Painted Canyon.

We drove further into the park and did another hike in the heat of the day.  Without much shade.  Probably not the best part of the plan for the day, but everyone did well and we confirmed that Bridgette is indeed still small enough to ride on my back in the ergo!

Hello, bison!

G-Daddy is extremely patient when playing the kids.  He's great at doing things they think are fun or funny over, and over . . . and over again!

Thank you, Grammy Deb and G-Daddy, for driving up to see us!  Our week together was memorable, relaxing, fun, and you didn't know it from the way the kids begged you not to leave - you are very loved by a Bunch of Paynes.

Mother's Day, Bismarck, and Friends

Ryan was supposed to be in the middle of a trial on Mother's Day, so we were keeping our plans to a minimum.  But then the trial was postponed, and we were all together on Sunday - a gift in itself!  I requested that we set up the trampoline!

The family treated me to my choice of lunch after church: sushi!

Gretchen had her last music class of the year, so we worked together to take treats for her friends.  And then I made more treats for the students in my two classes.  

Sesame Street Live came to base!   

Always with books . . . 

On any given afternoon, there is a good chance one of these two extra kiddos is in our house.  We have been so grateful for sweet friends who live on our street and enjoy playing with us in our home. It was rare to have them all together, holding still (thank you, Wild Kratts!).

The last homeschool art class for the year: a multi-stepped creation using four different art mediums 

We took part in a fire safety event where the kids were given some teaching about fire safety, and then allowed to go through an "obstacle course" trying out different equipment and testing their strength.

Our first lunch park picnic of the year =) 

Matching sisters!  Same same, but different.

Ryan took a day off work and we drove down to Bismarck for Franklin Graham's stop in North Dakota on his Decision America tour.  It was neat to stand with so many people on the steps of the state capitol, praying for our local leaders and our nation.  Rooke reminds us regularly that we need to make sure and vote!   We stayed in Bismarck for lunch at a local pizza place and then went to the zoo where we had the place to ourselves!  We saw almost all the animals before the storm blew in, so we had ice cream from the DQ drive-thru for dinner and drove home.

And the biggest news from the month is that we are actively preparing to move!  Ryan is being stationed in Maryland and we are excited to explore that side of the country starting in July!  But no matter how much we have to look forward to, goodbyes are always difficult.  Rooke and Gretchen both had special friends they had to say goodbye to this month.  It's a little easier because we are all moving about the same time, but my heart hurts watching my children say goodbye and miss their dear playmates.