Payne Family

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Streams, dams, and boys

we found another stream!!!

After our hike, we went further up the road to find an old mine camp (without any structures, just an informational plaque) and a stream to play in! The boys were busy building a dam while I relaxed in the shade of a pine tree. We are loving all the water and greenery. Mason still has no modesty and is more than willing to strip down to play, which is fine with me since we are camping.

hike part 2

The boys found snow!!!!

Family photo time

Thanks to Kevin's tripod we got to take a bunch of family photo's!

Morning family hike

The boys made a game of looking for "crickles", a cross between a creek and a trickle of water!

Looking down at Vallecito Lake

Daddy let them borrow his hiking sticks for a little motivation, this was ~1000ft elevation change!

We came at the right time of year, there is water everywhere and it is beautiful!

of course Kevin spotted this little one!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

More Silverton & train picutres

I took the maximum does of Meclizine and was able to enjoy the return trip to Durango!!!

Train to Silverton

The Animas River

We left camp early to catch the 8am train from Durango to Silverton! Ruth, Kim, and I rode this very train when we were this age with our grandparents! I should try to find that picture!!!

Waiting for the train to leave the station....we are excited!

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad travels 43 miles along the Animas River and opened in 1882.

Kevin was in charge of pictures as managed to get motion sick on the way to the train....it was a long 3 hour train ride to Silverton!!!

My thoughtful hubby captured me feeling sick....pretty sure I was contemplating jumping out the window.

gorgeous views!!!

The Payne family

The Thome family

The Seppala family

The kiddos in Silverton. Ruth, Kim, and I have a very similar picture!!!!

Our family

Brandon is now a second grader! He continues to love to play outside, has a great imagination, and is still fascinated by how things work. Literally, how EVERYTHING works! He is quite the little camper and we are still pretty sure he will end up being some type of engineer!
He still likes to watch an occasional animated movie but is obsessed with the Science Channel, so if the TV is on and he has an option that is what he will be watching. His favorite shows are How It's Made, Build it Bigger, Engineering the Impossible, and more recently science shows about Space. He is still very interested in chemistry, space, and the ocean. His favorite book to read is any book in the Fly Guy series and he loves to be read to from all the science books we have collected. His curiosity is endless!!!

Mason is now in Kindergarten and will be six very soon! He loves to ride the bus, chase the girls on the playground, and be outside exploring. He is still my sweet, big hearted, sensitive little guy. He is still my little shadow (I call him my "Momma seeking missile"), and less and less often finds his way to our bed to snuggle in the early morning hours thanks to no longer napping in the afternoon. He continues to love all things with wheels, is an active kiddo, and still loves to wrestle with Daddy! He spends hours chasing after lizards (just like Lilly). He loves to watch The Ninja Turtles, his favorite movie is Hotel Transylvania, and his favorite book is just about anything we read to him (although he is less interested in space and science than Brandon). He is quite the dare-devil, never seems to need as much sleep as the rest of us, and is our little athlete!

Kevin and I have been married for ten years this October, we can't believe how fast time goes and how big our kiddos are getting. Kevin is still a dedicated hunter and is loving his career now that he switched engineering firms! I have spent the past decade plus working for the same hospital and love the flexibility my job gives me so I can be with the boys as much as possible!

Spring background