Highlights from June

Our school year didn't wrap up until the end of June, so we took school outside on the especially beautiful sunny mornings . . .

After jumping on the trampoline with the hose and our neighbor, the girls had some important matters to discuss on the deck =)  It is my absolute joy to see their friendship growing.

One of our neighbors organized a night for several of us on our street to go to a minor league baseball game together!  The kids had a blast!

Our friend, Rachael, put together a little tennis class for her daughter and several other 3 to 5-year-olds in our neighborhood - Bridgette was invited to join the class!  Rachael did a brilliant job teaching the kiddos about the basics of tennis once a week for four weeks.   

And during the last tennis class, Rachael's husband, Jaron, came to the park and took on Rooke in an intense game of one-on-one! 

An afternoon playdate with our neighbors turned into me putting them to work at our community garden plot!

The time when I lost complete control during grocery shopping!

A quiet afternoon at the Arboretum - one of our favorite places to venture when we need to get outdoors.  We explored a new trial until the storm clouds started rolling in.  Thankfully, one of the kids was already whining asking to go back to the car, so we turned back sooner than I'd planned and ended up missing most of the heavy rain.

Another fun reason to visit the Arboretum: summer concerts in the park!

We took the bikes and scooters to a nearby park

Field trip with friends to the Postal Museum, which might be my new favorite museum of all that we've visited!

One morning, the kids were up with extra energy and wanted to go for a bike ride - ok!

All three kids took swimming lessons twice a week for the month of June.  Rooke honed his skills on several strokes, and the girls gained a tremendous amount of confidence in their swimming!

Ryan got to come for the last swimming lessons and we treated the kids to frozen yogurt afterwards!

Playing the fountains after a speech appointment for Bridgette

Sweet friends ready to jump in during a pool party with families from the exercise class I go to in our neighborhood!

Happy Father's Day!

These kids have a wonderful dad!  Ryan works hard all day and comes home to play hard each night.  He provides strong, consistent leadership in our home as he faithfully seeks after God for wisdom and strength through prayer and worship.  He makes sure we have good treats and gets the prize for being the silly and fun parent!  

a surprise latte at work!

Happy Father's Day . . . you get a new chair!  And you get to push our monkeys around Ikea! =)

the new "Daddy Chair" being put to good use 

the kids and I decided we would get surprise doughnuts for a Father's Day breakfast treat.  Bridgette insisted I wake her up so she could go with me, which made the errand so much better!  

Daddy tenderly loving his girls during baptisms at church

My dad said he wanted a photo of each of his kids' family . . . Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad!! 

a meal fit for our Father's Day King: halloumi cheese lunch after church - Ryan's favorite!

The Daddy Bag tradition: the kids pick out a book each year that they want to share with their daddy . . . this year their choice was inspired by his enjoyment of reading poetry

Fun in May

During the month of May, we experienced our favorite (so far) event in DC - Around the World Embassy Tour!  Over 40 embassies participated in the tour, opening their doors for the public to walk through and experience a taste (literally) of their culture!  Seeing evidence of cultures from around the world and free food all within walking distance from our parking spot?  Pretty much the Payne's ideal Saturday adventure!  

We started in Tunisia . . .

The girls wanted one of these hats from Kazakstan!

Thinking of our Compassion sponsor child who lives in Uganda as met the Defense Attache from his country.

That time we went for a family walk after dinner and the guys let the football go down the drain - ahhhhh!!!!!  It was recovered and no one was hurt - ha!

I invited some friends to join us for a morning in the garden at the Capitol Area Food Bank.  The resident gardener and her assistant had fantastic activities planned for us to do, getting our hands dirty with harvesting, weeding, planting, and then making lunch from some of the food we harvested!

Happy Mother's Day!  I'm so grateful for these three and their daddy who made me feel extra special on that Sunday.

Strawberry picking with friends - one of my most favorite activities to kick off summer fun!

The Chapman family showed us some of their favorite spots in the Arboretum - gorgeous!  And on a hot day, after walking, climbing, and running around - the kids couldn't resist the sprinklers!

I'm working hard to raise strong readers . . .

Our little neighborhood has its own day, complete with a neighborhood parade!  Small town in a big city - we love it!

Gretchen walked in the parade with the FitKids group she and Rooke were a part of.  This photo makes me think there will be more parades in her future - such a natural!

The Carpenter family generously invited us to join them at their farm house for Memorial Day - so much fun!  We learned a new game, ate yummy food together, had lots of kid play time and good adult conversation, and even made it into town for Pak's ice cream and bowling!  We're so thankful for these friends.