Payne Nation: April 2019

We started April at Disneyland over the girl's Spring Break. We asked Natalee to come with us to help get the older kids on as many rides as possible, whilst 1 adult stayed back with the baby. Best. Decision. Ever. We fast-passed and ride-swapped like you would't believe, ate too much, and wore everyone out. The older 2 loved all of the rides, and even though Tess was brave and went on every ride she ended up coming off of the ones like Space Mountain and Guardians of the Galaxy saying, "I did NOT like that ride!" Coco even enjoyed the small rides and it was just fun (and exhausting) all around. It was such a great trip!

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

We spent MOST of the time in line doing this...

Once home we tried to get back into the swing of things...

Any days that weren't freezing or raining we were outside soaking in whatever sun would show up...

Nothing better than a little baby arm wrapped around your neck...

I love everything about this video. First of all, Colette has been a little slow to talk so anytime she says a word we try to get video proof of it. Second of all, this is the 3rd video I tried taking of her in like a 1 minute span so when I kept asking her to say cheese, she finally shushed me. And third, the bag of cheese was sitting on the table and the scream at the end was because Tess reached into the bag to get some and Coco did not like that. She is a firecracker and we don't always know what reaction we are going to get from her!

Sisterly love...

Addie was asking for a new bike for her birthday. Since we needed to shop with her so that we knew which bikes she would fit on we ended up getting one a few days before her actual birthday. She was thrilled.

We had a Neighborhood block party one evening. It was a little chilly but just so fun to have everyone together and watch all the kids playing.

Just dancin...

More places to climb in and more messes to make...

Like I said, anytime the sun is shining they want to be outside...

Coco loves emptying a container and then putting everything back in. It's pretty great...

One of Addie's school projects was to throw a decade party for her class. She and her friend Brinley got the decade 1920 and threw a Roaring '20's party. Everything they did had to come from that time period. There was Mickey Mouse Bingo, Charleston dancing, cotton swab art, and snacks of Rice Krispies. I got to go help them but they did such a great job putting it all together!

This is how we watch Tess at gymnastics...

Easter weekend was a fun couple of days. We enjoyed being with the Wayment clan on Saturday and Grandma and Grandpa did an Easter egg hunt for all the kids. As usual they were spoiled and had a great time.

On Sunday morning, the girls woke up to discover that their Easter baskets were hidden all around the house...

That night we had Easter dinner with the Payne clan and Grandma and Grandpa Payne had an Easter egg hunt for all the kids too. And once again... spoiled kids who had so much fun.

The very next day Addie turned 11! It has been an awesome ride with this kid. She is growing into such an amazing kid and we are so proud of who she is becoming. She is so mature for her age and is often so willing to help out, especially with the baby. She is organized, thoughtful, and very much a rule follower (making sure others follow the rules too). She has a passion for acting and singing and is mindful of her future already. We just love this kid so much and realize that she won't be a kid for much longer.

Just standing because she can...

Without much notice, Devin's work asked him to travel to Dallas for a convention. He asked if I wanted to go with him and spontaneously the trip fell into place. Neither of us had been to Texas before so it was fun to see a new city together.

Day 1:

The view from our hotel of downtown Dallas was pretty sweet...

Our first stop of the day was Reunion Tower where we got some great views of the city...

And a funny picture of ourselves...

This is the Sixth Floor Museum seen from the Reunion Tower...

Our next stop was The Sixth Floor Museum. This is where Lee Harvey Oswald was located when he shot President Kennedy. We did an audio tour that walked us through the life and death of President Kennedy. It was amazing and is one of our favorite museums that we have visited.

The window that Lee Harvey Oswald took his shot from...

The X's on the street mark the exact location when the bullets struck President Kennedy. It was a very somber experience being in the exact spot that it happened. It is still a usable street so you have to run when the traffic is coming through!

JFK Memorial...

In planning for the trip, Devin discovered that Hamilton would be playing while we were there. Neither of us had seen it and had been dying to, so he got tickets! It was awesome! Seriously loved it so much!

Unfortunately, while we were gone the Addie and Quincy had a piano recital. We were sad to miss it but we were so lucky that we have such great parents who supported them and also took video and sent it to us!

Day 2:
We walked through the city and came to Pioneer Plaza with life-size statues of a cattle drive.

We passed through a Farmer's Market and then made our way into Deep Ellum. This part of the city was pretty cool with lots of shops and graffiti art everywhere.

We wanted to get some really good BBQ while we were here and lots of people told us to go to the Pecan Lodge. We were told that we would end up waiting in line for quite awhile but that it was worth the wait. Oddly enough when we got there there was no line at all. We got right in and got our food fast. It was AMAZING! I have never tasted BBQ like this and I still dream about it months later. This picture was taken after we were done when the line was out the door!

We decided to try one of the rental electric scooters that we have seen all around the city. We didn't go too far but it was fun to try them out...

We also had to get massive pieces of pie while we were there!

Then we headed out of downtown to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and the weather was just perfect.

We headed home the next day but it was such a fun trip even though it was pretty quick.

Next up was Addie's Birthday Party. She decided that she wanted a swim party so had her friends come to our house for lunch, cake, and presents with a Luau theme and then we headed to the pool. It was fun to see all these girls together...