Capri gets her first (and hopefully last) piercings!

I'm one of those cruel moms who holds their child down to get her ears pierced. My mean streak started with Sophia when she was nearing 18 months old and there was still very little hair atop the cranium. The second time around was not quite as hard because I knew from experience that Capri would stop crying within 30 seconds. Steve was on board with the decision, but would not go with me to get it done, just like he has yet to take any one of our children to get immunized. Capri looks absolutely adorable, and Steve agrees, but he says it does remind him a little bit of one of those shiny bald, black athletes with big huge diamonds, ie, Terrell Owens! Now I would like to see Mr. Owens wear a big pink flower on his head!

Hola. Yo me llamo Lyric.

Steve and I took a much needed SUNNY vacation. Actually it was part vacation and part work. I think they call that a boondoggle! Poor Steve still looked kind of pasty when we got home because he was the one working. My brother Sam invited us to join his family in their luxury beachfront condo and do some dental work at an orphanage and at a school in a little village just south of Puerto Vallarta. I stayed home most of the days with the kids, which means playing in the pool, laying by the pool, laying on the beach, or reading on the balcony which overlooks the ocean while Capri sleeps. Not too bad of a deal of you ask me.

I re-learned that Idaho sunsets are just as beautiful, or more beautiful than ocean sunsets, but there's just something about being on the beach in 70 degree weather when the sun disappears.

Me with my gorgeous Mamacita on the beach of the new St. Regis hotel. Access to this beach and hotel and pools is included in my brother's condo ownership. This picture doesn't do it justice. There were white tents with white cushioned beds you could lay on, white cabanas, white everything. It was amazing. I felt like I was in an episode of The Bachelor!

One of these things is not like the others! Don't my brother and Mom look so much alike? Where did this blondie come from?

I had so much fun chillin' with my nieces and nephews. I got my fill of playing with the kids without having to parent them. It was perfect. This is my beautiful niece Sicily, who happens to be one of Sophie's best friends. We decided that if we ever get invited on this boondoggle again we will bring Maxwell and Sophia with us. They would have had a blast with their cousins. Although, like I said before, it was nice having a break from parenting my children who can talk (ie, whine, complain, argue, beg) for a few days.

One of the definite highlights of the trip for us all was Yolanda. I didn't realize how short she was until I previewed my pictures! She is the maid/cook/babysitter that comes with the condo. She works 6 days a week from 9 to 5, whether guests are staying in the condo or not. We decided that she probably really loves it when no one is there! She was an amazing cook. I think I asked her to make fresh salsa and guacamole three times while we were there. When she was making the grocery list and menu, she was trying to write in English, which she speaks poco (little) and she spelled guacamole like this: wacamole. I was laughing hard inside! After we got home, my Mom, my sister-in-law Hollie and I all called each other to see how we were handling life without Yolanda. I really wanted to bring Yolanda home with me, especially if I only had to pay her the wage she earns in Mexico. For now, I'm happy being Yolanda Payne. Although I did try to duplicate her salsa and wacamole and it just wasn't the same. Really, how can tomatoes, onion, cilantro, salt and lime juice be made differently?

Another highlight of the trip for me was watching all the attention Capri got. Maybe it's because not many white tourists take their 3 month old babies to Mexico with them! Everywhere we went she was oohed and aahed over, which I know is the case with white babies in America too, but this was times ten. Old men and women, little children and even teenagers just couldn't get enough of her. It continued on the plane ride home. Capri likes to be facing out when I am holding her, so just picture a little bald head and cute little face peeking out from her Mom's arm. We were the last ones to board the plane (not a big surprise for those who know me well!) and our seats were in the very last row. It was a constant barrage of "she is so cute" and "look at her" and "oh my goodness" the entire walk to the back of the plane. I had to stop making eye contact with people because everyone wanted to ask how old she was, and I felt like I was going to the delay the flight. I must admit that I loved it. Who doesn't love their child getting some positive affirmation!

There is an amazing golf course at the resort that was designed by Jack Nicklaus. It has an island hole. The golf cart path is usable during low tide, but a boat takes you to the green during high tide. We actually didn't play, so Steve was just dreaming, or visualizing, in this picture!

We actually went to church on vacation...which may possibly be a first for us! Sam and Hollie told us that church in Mexico always starts late. It just seems to be their laid back culture. Sacrament meeting actually started promptly, so the casually dressed tourists showed up fashionably late! (Again, not a big surprise!) It was a beautiful building, especially set against the run-down concrete buildings covered in grafitti.

Now for the imporant part...the work part. I helped Steve one morning as his assistant, aka hot suction girl! It was actually quite fun, although I do tend to get distracted easily so I think Steve was very glad to replace this suction girl with the more focused, but also hot, Mother-in-law! I was so impressed with Steve. I knew he was a great clinical dentist, and I knew that his bedside manner was good (not in that way...get your minds out of the gutter!), but I didn't know he had the patience of Job. You know a person is patient when they don't even raise their voice after having to tell a little boy, in Spanish, to open his mouth grande for the 100th time, and I mean that literally. I was also impressed with his Spanish. Apparently he learned some important dental terms at his previous dental gig, and then he would throw in his Portuguese here and there. It seemed to be quite effective. By the way, all these kids were actually very happy children, as was Yolanda in the picture above. For some reason they didn't smile in pictures unless you asked them to, and I kept forgetting the Spanish word for smile.

Thoughtful question by Sophie

Sophie to Dad and Maxwell, "Do Jedi's wear panties or underwear?" I'm glad she's pondering on the more important things in life!

Being a member of the extended Payne family requires one to become a Star Wars nerd. I have yet to succumb, but Sophie has been initiated into the club and Maxwell is like the president! Steve is only an amatuer Star Wars nerd compared to his 3 older brothers. What a legacy!

A Second Ammendment Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas season it has been. I love that the Spirit of Christ is abundant during December, even though many people who are not Christian, or even religious may not recognize it as that. Goodness and giving are plentiful. Speaking of giving, this is a picture of the family after making Christmas offerings to our neighbors. We made rice filled flannel warmers that you heat in the microwave. They are a favorite in our family and we lovingly refer to them as "cuddle sacks".

I told Maxwell and Sophia to leave Santa a healthy snack instead of cookies, so this is what they set out...water, pretzels and an orange. My favorite part of this spread is the orange peeler Maxwell was thoughtful enough to remember!

Maxwell was really excited about the AT-TE walker, and if you don't know what that is then you are so out of the loop! When he told me what he wanted from Santa I asked him if he was sure about this because it was meant for 9-14 year olds. He said, "yea, because then it will be challenging for me." Hopefully he still feels the same way when trying to decide whether or not to take organic chemistry in college!

Santa brought the most expensive gift he has ever brought to the House of Paynes...the most fabulous Barbie Jeep. Sophie asked Santa for a Barbie computer (which she saw at Costco), but I told her that sometimes Santa has something else in his workshop that he knows a child will like more than what she has asked for. Santa was right!

And here is proof that it was a Second Ammendment Christmas. We wanted to buy two of these guns for Maxwell so when he has a friend over they can each have one, but we didn't want Max to use the "they're mine" argument when Sophie wanted to play with him. Solution: Wrap one up for Sophie! It's pretty funny to see a plastic camoflauge machine gun in the back of a pink Barbie jeep!

Tetherball Maniac

Rain, sleet or snow...nothing can stop this kid from tetherballin' it!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Our good friend, Lee Funes, is a really great guy to have around, mostly because he is so fun and nice, but also because he has an expensive camera and a good eye! One sunday afternoon he offered to take a family picture for our Christmas card. We just drove down the street from our neighborhood hoping to see a good backdrop for the occasion. About one mile from our neighborhood we drove past this setting, which happens to be the entrance to a new fancy neigborhood, which I'm sure is currently on hold in this market! As soon as we got out of the car Maxwell began posing solo for the camera, as if he were some hotshot celebrity. It was hilarious. Then he wanted to hold Capri so she could get in on the modeling action too. I remember Capri being really cooperative, but she must have had a moment, because we captured a great picture of her painfully screaming! Sophie is obviously a natural poser as well, because she looks nearly the same in every picture, even the one when were all supposed to do silly faces! And yes, I know my boobs look big (my sisters all told me). I'll just blame it on breastfeeding...even though Capri is bottle fed!

Capri's Blessing Day

What an absolute angel our little Capri is. She looks like a porcelain doll in this picture with her Daddy...which would be Steve! He gave her such a beautiful blessing that was so filled with the Spirit and heartfelt. It even brought tears to his own eyes. Actually, I don't think it was his words that brought the tears, I think it was the overwhelming feeling of love he has for his daughter that brought the tears. I was true to form and cried from the moment the first words fell from Steve's mouth!

Grandma Smith has a very treasured tradition of sewing each of her grandchildren a blessing outfit...in all of her spare time (which would be the wee hours of the night)! I really really really love this dress. My Mom spent hours and hours sewing all the gorgeous stitchwork BY HAND. Don't seamstresses call that "couture"? Capri may have some pretty high expectations for sunday wear now!

Just look at that face. That is the face of a nearly perfect child!