Payne Nation: July 2024

At the end of June we had begun some early celebrations for Tess' birthday and starting into July those celebrations continued. After spending the night in a hotel, we headed to Lagoon to spend the day. It was the perfect day for Tess with her bestie Scarlett. We even got matching outfits to really make it the perfect day!

We had to say goodbye to Scarlett but made sure to give Kayson a "car" on his 16th Birthday!

We picked up Kyler for some shopping and then spent some time with Josh, Kelsie, Landon, and Maylie...

Then we headed to Fillmore to spend the 4th of July with Brian and Shannon and Ryan and Sara and their kids. We went to a movie in the park (which ended up not working), piled all the kids into a small apartment to sleep, and got up early to go their massive parade. Addy drove the razors around town, and she and some of the other kids rode on Brian and Shannon's float. After that, we all headed out to Yuba Lake to take the boat out for a spin.

After all the fun in Fillmore, we drove home and managed to make it in time to watch fireworks from Devin's office that overlooks the city. We watched them lighting up all over the valley and then watched Utah Tech's Firework show over the temple. Best way to watch fireworks!

Earning money for more summer fun...

Then we celebrated Tess' 10th birthday with our family. Tess is always so excited and as equally grateful for the things that she gets. She doesn't love the idea of getting older and tries to hang on to her younger self as much as she can. She is wonderfully weird, has so much love in her heart, and loves to be creative.

The next day we drove to Oceanside, California for the Payne Family Reunion. Unfortunately, Quincy had to make the tough decision to stay behind for volleyball. Grandma and Grandpa Payne rented this huge house right on the beach and it was incredible. I walked on the beach every morning and sometimes in the evening. Some of the kids would join for a day and then decide they would rather sleep in. Tess became my walking buddy as soon as she discovered how many shells could be found that early in the morning.

There was also a cute little beach town close by that we would walk to for shopping, doughnuts, etc.

We also went to a San Diego Padres game with the whole family...

Then on one of the days, we all drove to Dana Point Beach to meet up with a professional sand castle builder. Grandpa Payne had set up a lesson for us to learn how to build sand castles. It was cool to see the different techniques he used and and to try them out for ourselves. Then each family built their own sand castle. We had so many people coming over to check out our work and ask what was going on. One guy started talking to Devin saying how he could spot members from a mile away. In their conversation, the guy mentioned that they were there to surf and Devin told him how I had always wanted to learn how. He told me to come out with him and he would teach me. I was starting to get the hang of it (minus one crash into a guy that didn't move out of the way) when my body decided to shut down. Staying in cold water for almost an hour, with no sun, and without a wetsuit and my body just couldn't take anymore. I struggled trying to get out of the ocean and once I was out I couldn't stop shaking. I think I even lost control of my bladder. Still, overall it was a fun experience.

Having so much fun is exhausting...

Had to find the "Top Gun" House...

I love the ocean...

On our last day, we took the girls back to San Diego to explore. First, we stopped at the Mormon Battalion Museum, then went to Old Town Market, and then stopped at Seal Beach to check out the seals and climb through the cool trees.