Is There Food In Heaven?

This is the thought provoking question that Sophie asked very randomly in the van the other day. I told her that I thought it was an excellent question and I wasn't sure of the answer, but that I thought our bodies probably won't need food in heaven. She said, "I really hope there is because I'll get hungry." And there you have it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Legoland aka Maxwell Heaven

Our California summer vacation started at Legoland. Well, it actually started at LAX at 9:30 pm, followed by the rental car shuttle at 10:30, the rental car station at 11:00, a desperate attempt to find something that would please kids and Mommy and Daddy for dinner, followed by a 90 minute drive to Carlsbad. So really our vacation started with a 1:30 bedtime! Each night thereafter was a little bit better as far as bedtime, but not by much. Our kids were running on fumes after about day three! Anyways...what was this post actually about...oh, yeah, Legoland. Legoland is a very quaint and quite fascinating amusement park. The rides are all quite small and harmless, although for some reason you have to be 42" to ride many of them, which excludes Sophie, and babies are not allowed on any rides. This made me really appreciate Disneyland where babies can come along on many rides and Sophie could go on nearly everything.

I think this is Ranger Joe that we nabbed for a family picture. I'm not sure who he is, but anyone with a big plastic head is famous in Legoland!

Capri and Sophie were both asleep for quite a while in the stroller and just as I was about to capture the moment on camera, Capri's little eyes popped open and she gave me the cutest little smile.

Maxwell's favorite part of Legoland had to be the test track area. You build your own vehicle and race each other on the track. He kept winning and loving it. He finally lost a race, so he immediatly went back to the building area and did some restructuring and revamping and headed back to the track with the bigger and better version, which again won everything. He could have spent hours in that place...literally.

One of my favorite things about Legoland is that it is within 30 minutes from two of my really great friends, Brigette Helmer and Kristie Arnold. They each brought some of their kids, which completely entertained my kids, and then the girls and I caught up, while my fabulous hubby took care of Capri, which is probably not surprising to most of you that know Steve and I!

Meet our new friend Bert!

What Will Capri look like in Four Years?

This is a picture of Capri at 9 months, followed by a picture of Sophie at 10 months. I wish I knew how to put pictures side by side on blogger because then you can really appreciate how each feature is so similar. So in answer to my question, what will Capri look like in four years...scroll to the next picture.

Sophie...So you Think you Can Dance!

Sophie went to a week long dance camp this summer that she just loved. The instructors were wonderful. On the last day of the camp they did a little performance to show us what our little tykes had learned. It was absolutely adorable and I wish you could all see the video footage. I will just say that Sophie was definitely one of the cutest in the room, but not necessarily the most coordinated. Don't worry sweetheart, Mommy is not the most graceful person and look what I made of myself!

I have to add a P.S. here - I just rewatched the video footage from the dance performance and Sophie actually did quite well. I'm not really sure what I expected...perfection? She remembered the moves quite well for a 4 year old and she definitely knows how to shake her hips!

Dave Turns 40!

I know it's hard to believe...but Dave turned 40! We all got together for a birthday celebration at Smokey Mountain Pizza and a roast of Dave (which came quite naturally), followed by a rip roarin' time at the indoor go-cart raceway. I think Dave won (surprise surprise) but Steve finished a respectable second, and I beat Deanne!

Romney Weekend

We love the Romneys. We love Mitt Romney, but even more than him we love the Arizona Romneys...Mike, Brooke and boys. We took a little jaunt down to SLC to meet up with them while they were visiting Brooke's parents. Mike and Steve are like little boys together (burping, farting, crude humor, etc.) and Brooke and I can talk about anything for hours. Okay, I know you think I can talk to anyone for hours, but not like this! We took a beautiful hike in the canyon that was described online as easy, flat and family friendly. I guess family friendly does not mean for 4 year olds, and flat in hiking terms is not literal! It was still great times, and was followed by a trip down the alpine slide at Snowbird.

We miss living by you guys and are glad to know that we can always count on you for an eventful weekend getaway. And during those getaways it is as though we never moved away from each other.

Shower Anyone?

Steve and I try to get the kids, especially Maxwell, to take a shower, but they all insist on baths. Is it weird that they all bathe together? Actually, I don't really care what anyone else thinks! They like it, and it makes for really fast bathtime in the evening. Steve usually takes bath duty, which is why they still don't wash their bodies or hair most of the time. Steve wants to just get them in and out in the shortest amount of time possible. Nevermind that they need to learn how to clean themselves hopefully before the age of 12! When I'm in charge the kids wash themselves, except for a little help with the shampoo rinsing part. Seriously, is there anything better than freshly clean children?

Boys and Battles

Is it just my son or is it normal for a little boy to set up battles throughout the house? Most of you know that I am on the verge of being a clean freak, and this drives me crazy, however, because the soldiers, lego guys or batteries are organized, I actually find it endearing for a short little while! Scenes such as these can be found in random places in the Payne home. Maxwell's favorite place to set up shop is on the bathroom counter. By the way, the close-up lego shot was taken by the General Maxwell himself!

Traditions

Traditions can be such funny things. For example, my family has a tradition of going to the Melba Parade every 4th of July. It pretty much consists of tractors, veterans on flatbed trailers and random people on 4 wheelers and horses. To their credit, a lot of candy is thrown. Each year I just chuckle inside that we are actually attending this parade, but there would be a little part of the 4th of July holiday missing if we didn't. Why is that? By the way, Sophie is such a great parade watcher. She truly appreciates all the candy thrown and she waves at everyone, including all the rodeo queens and firemen!