Hiking Club annual picnic @ Rose Canyon Lake

My and my ducklings at Rose Canyon Lake (Mt Lemmon)

The boys got recognized for being a part of the hiking club, we have been on many kids hikes with Grandma Diane

The hiking club president giving a little info about the boys being a part of the hiking club!

getting their patches, late May 2015

My boys, so proud with their patches!!!  Thank you Grandma Diane for helping us be a part of the hiking club!  We are so proud of you too!  Great job on all the hikes you have been on and been a leader of!!!!!!  We are looking forward to another year of hiking.

Camping-part 2

 The boys think it is so much fun to ride in the back of the truck on the back roads!

According to Kevin, this is the view looking out to New Mexico from Terry Flat

The Payne family

The Thome family with their new pups

Mason caught a "torny hoad" and boy was he proud!!!

the brown things

We stopped and had lunch by our favorite camping spot after going up to Terry Flat.  The kids we super excited to see the stream and get a little wet.

Camping-White Mountains part 1

 Of course the brown things go camping with us, they love it!!!  This year we had 4 kids, 4 dogs, and 4 adults which made for lots of activity around camp.

 The boys got to try out their new fishing poles, complements of Grandpa, at Crescent Lake!  Lets just say no fish were "harmed"during our attempt to fish.

Alli & Mason

Brandon, Alli, Mason, and Chloe

Mason & Chloe

 The kiddos got lessons in fire building, smores roasting, and wood carving during this camping trip!

My loves!!!

The gang carving wood!

This year we opted for a camping trip with the Thome's to start off the summer right.  Of course we decided it would be better to get up to camp ASAP which meant heading out Thursday night and setting up in the dark, luckily we have done this many times by now and have got our routine down!
It is amazing how quickly the kids can entertain themselves with good ole nature, no toys required!

Kinder celebration

Yep,, he is officially a 1st grader!

my loves

oh attitude....

There is Brandon in the back row.  Notice how the handmade design on his shirt is organized and neat....engineer in the making!

singing along with the song

It brought tears to my eyes when they announced the "class of 2027"!!!   

Next to his artwork from the end of the year!

Here are a few memories from kindergarten at Mesa Verde: Teacher: Mrs Stephenson.  Favorite classroom item: the smart board (much like the over head projector of our day but way better and linked to the computer), Friends he made: Raymond, Roger, Rene, and Sienna.  Favorite day of the week:1/2 day Wednesday because "they are shorter days" and Rene's mom would often come and cook for the class.
His favorite weekly class: art and science.
At the end of the program they played a slide show that had a picture of each child and what they wanted "to be".  Can you guess what was listed next to his picture????  Yep, Electrical Engineer!

3's end of year program

He found me in the audience, thanks for my zoom lens Kev!

Mason and Luke (2 seats to the left)

Mrs Pitcher, the 3's teacher

Mason was super cute in the St Mark's end of year program, he is so excited to get to spend the summer with Brandon!

Mother's Day afternoon

The Payne grandkids

our family

Me & Hubby

The Payne boys!!!

We spent the afternoon at Great-Grandma Dudleys house (after the hike).  The kids had fun seeing their cousins and playing in the grass.  Easton was highly sought after, of course, and was such a trooper with the boys!