Monster Jam!!!

Monster Jam!!!  The boys insisted we ride the street car into town since neither Kevin or myself had done it before.  The boys are old pros at the the street car since they have been on it several times with Grandma Diane.  We had dinner at The Hub in downtown Tucson, which is another favorite of the boys and Grandma Diane when they go to the Children's Museum.  It was a great family day, can't wait to have another day together (doing fun activities).

We are all wearing ear plugs but it was still sooooo loud!

Intermission, Brandon was happy it was a bit more quiet.

Mason was impressed by the loud noise, revving of the engines, and all the tricks!  

Rodeo Program-St Mark's

someone spotted Momma in the audience!

 St Mark's ECC put on the annual Rodeo program and all the kiddos were too cute in their Rodeo attire.  Mason is in the 4's class with Mrs Pegnam and some of their artwork is on display to the far right in the above picture.  Of course, I forgot to bring the zoom lens today!

My handsome cowboy!!!

Homework and the kitchen counter

Mason has been working hard with Mrs Pegnam's preschool class!  He is learning both upper and lowercase letters and usually is a good sport when I ask him to practice at home!

happy to be at the counter working on homework while I cook dinner

not so happy....having to sound out and correctly spell words can be frustrating or maybe it's because I am taking his picture???
 I am so very fortunate to be able to work part time and be home with the boys after school!  We have worked hard establishing a good after school routine, and it makes all the difference on the flow of the evening!  Every afternoon we get home, having a little relaxation time, and then usually spend about an hour getting our homework done, including spending ~20-30 minutes reading books.   I have got the timing down, we do our reading first and then work on our weekly spelling/grammar/math packet while the boys sit at the counter and I make dinner!  Now, this is what I envisioned when I thought about this phase of my life, except with maybe a little less attitude from the littles!    

afternoon playtime

Working hard to master the art of playing marbles!

Nama doing her best to past on the game of marbles to another generation

my brown things....

Mason & the brown things!

A boy and his dogs!  

Winter in the desert

Yes, we do love winter in the desert!  it may be cool in the shade by spend a little time in the sun and you could spend all day outside.  The boys spent time racing their boats while the dogs lounged in the grass. It is rough to be a Payne!

Snuggle buddies

The boys love to snuggle, even Jake gets in on the loving!  This is a usual evening ritual for the boys....all of them! 

Yep, Mason is still ok with me snapping a photo but Brandon is still over it!