February Flashback

Still trying to catch up . . . some memories from February . . .

the kids have so much fun when Uncle Steve and Aunt Vallerie babysit!  What?!  You mean, you didn't know Uncle Steve was under that pile of blankets and baskets?!  

And while the kids were playing at home . . . we had a fun date night to see Drew and Ellie Holcomb with friends who had the hook-up with free tickets!

A baby shower for my beautiful friend expecting her third baby soon!

Fourth grade writing has been a beast (for us both, if I'm honest), but I'm proud of his perseverance.

A friend and I took our girls to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day: the Musical!  It was opening night, so the tickets were pay-what-you-can - it was a fantastic show!  And a super fun night with friends!

Gretchen and her friend with two of the cast members . . .

"Alexander" reminded us of the girls' big brother =)

The boys after a hard-fought basketball game win.  

Friends with a membership invited us to join them for a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium

Monday evenings are spent at ballet/tap class with these lovely ladies.

Thank you for the Valentine's Day treats, Phoebe!!

I came home from my workout to these happy birthday signs - a great way to start a wonderful birthday!

Since my birthday fell on President's Day this year, Ryan didn't have to work!  We had a fun family day walking (or scootering) through the Arboretum, playing games at a cafe, and visiting the National Gallery, along with plenty of good food and some fun calls from family and friends =) 

We enjoyed a string of unexpectedly warm days!  Shorts in February?!  Ok!

"Mom!  Can we pretend to be explorers and take our lunch on an adventure hike outside?!"  Yes!!  

Happy Birthday, George Washington!  

Our first visit to Mount Vernon was on the President's birthday, and we look forward to hopefully taking another trip to take in more of the grounds and museum.  Did you know our first president had red hair when he was young?!  The man walking around dressed up as Washington paid special attention to our two gingers =)

January in Review

Yep.  Totally behind.  But I'm not ready to give up yet!  Some memories from January . . .

Rooke's birthday breakfast!  Hard to believe our oldest is in double digits now - TEN!!!

Rooke picked the Natural History Museum for his birthday field trip - we had the place to ourselves!

Happy Birthday, Rooke!!

Dad nailed the birthday gifts this year, which included a Wii football game!

And to really solidify what a big deal it is to turn ten, Rooke got to have his first friend sleepover!  These two dudes drank gatorade, played Wii Madden, threw the football, devoured pizza, downed rootbeer floats, and stayed up late having too much fun!

We kept the birthday party going the next day, taking leftover cake to share with Gramma and Uncle Steve while we watched Aunt Sara play on The Price Is Right!  

Yes!  She made it on the show . . . and WON - BIG TIME!!!  So fun!!

Beautiful Aunt Vallerie's birthday was close to Rooke's, so we had a birthday buddy lunch =)

Our beautiful girls started dance.  Gretchen's second year, and Bridgette's first go at ballet!  Monday evenings are a happy time for the Payne girls.

I walked into the school room to this sight.  Big Brother reading Fancy Nancy to Little Sister.  Love.

Our turn for a family presentation at our homeschool co-op. . . we chose the topic "What we want to be when we grow up".  We each (mostly) shared one "realistic" dream and one "far-fetched" dream:

Bridgette: really good piano player; gymnast

Gretchen: librarian or piano player; rock star

Rooke: chef; NFL or NBA player

Angela: children's librarian; performer with STOMP

Ryan: missionary or pastor; travel writer

The kids took part in classes at the Building Museum in DC.  Gretchen's class designed and tested an egg drop (hers broke both times, but still fun!):

Bridgette's class designed an animal habitat - B chose monkeys =)

Rooke and his buddy built a symmetrical structure of their choice out of recycled materials!

Sometimes running errands with these three is really so much fun!

A family walk along the Harriet Tubman trail.

Thankful for the reminder of grace in a beautiful act of service from my son (lunch is served!) with a sincere note of apology.  

A group of sixty adults (with seventy kids!) was sent out from our church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, to start a new church in our neighborhood of Cheverly!  

Christmas in Portland, Part 3

Mom arranged for a photographer to come over and snap some photos of all the families!

  

Big Daddy took Rooke for a special guys' night of Track Town Pizza and Oregon Ducks basketball in Eugene!

DQ blizzards!

We took advantage of the rain-free days and explored Kaye K and Big Daddy's beautiful neighborhood.

A trip to Portland wouldn't be complete without eating from a food truck

Towards the end of our time in the Northwest, our family drove up to Seattle to spend a few days with friends.  The Hurt family, who were our Seattle neighbors and faithful host home for our weekly community group, graciously hosted a happy hour open house so we could see as many friends as possible all at once!  The evening was a wonderful encouragement to Ryan and I.  We were so immersed in catching up with dear friends that evening, I only took one photo!  Brit and I have been friends since the first day of sixth grade(!) and I was SO grateful to see her.

While in Seattle, we stayed with the hospitable Heaviland fam and had so much fun!

Jessie single-handedly borrowed enough snow gear to outfit our entire family and we spent our fifteenth anniversary sledding!  We arrived to a completely empty parking lot and had the sledding hill completely to ourselves for most of the day!  It was a highlight of our trip for all of us!

15 years of marriage . . .  =)

Jessie's mom watched all the kids so we could sneak out for a special double date, complete with delicious food, good conversation, and a fun new game.

One last delicious breakfast out with Mom and Dad before heading to the airport.  

Time to fly home!  Our return trip went much smoother =)