Viva la Vida

One our babysitters came by after a neighborhood party and spent some of her day with us. One of the great things she did was play Coldplay's Viva la Vida on the piano in our living room.

Open the song up in a new browser window for the full Alexandra Friday Payne experience:

http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742257591603865

Sometimes Allie gets this look on her face - she likes to dance and be beautiful. She takes her performances very seriously. She ran and put on a flowing dress and a draped oversized dance shirt that flutters when she dances.
She also has learned to tie knots which comes in handy when you need to tie three... um... yes those are shopping bags into a dance sash. One Albertson's, one Target and a Big Lots.

We love our little modern dancer.

Joy to the World

I was out running errands with the boys today- shopping. Oh the crowds, trying to move your cart through the place, the shelves looking ransacked, the music blaring, the oodles or "Made in China" products to purchase and the green plastic garlands. And I felt... joy! I feel so much happiness and love and rejoicing! He CAME! He was born!!! For thousands of years people waited and watched and hoped for the sign to come and it finally did! He came! I hear people complain about the holidays and the commercialism and the rush. I understand what they are talking about but I just don't feel that. I feel JOY! I feel celebration and hope and light! My Savior was born and that changes everything! The darkness and gloom and despair cannot permanently stay. I feel like rejoicing inside! I feel so grateful and blessed with family and friends, with life! I feel joyful!

I hope you can feel it too.

Gatorland Fun

Allie is too cute (I am only slightly biased since I am her mother) . Who wouldn't want a nibble?! I wonder what "Allie breath" would be like.
Cousins don't shake hands... cousins gotta hug!
It is a sad day when you get captured by an alligator.
Luke is apparently unaware of the danger he is in.
Allie gets it. Barely.
... and Wesley sleeps with it.

Grandma's Table

During our Thanksgiving break we ate at Grandma's kitchen table. This is the same table where I grew up eating dinner and "chatting" with my siblings. I think I set and cleared this table quite a few times and even swept under it a time or two. Poor Carter got most of the mopping duty for some strange reason (he actually did it). I earned my first $100 from my sister Erin washing dishes from this table. The price started off at $3 a round and wound up $7 a round if I remember correctly. Sorry Erin - you know what they say, never mix business and family.
We all ate countless bowls of Cheerios and Corn Flakes from this table. I still really like Cheerios.
The green lid on the table next to a younger me above is from a sugar bowl of my mother's. I seem to remember a syrupy slurry in the bottom of my cereal bowl after a few spoonfuls. It made the leftover milk very tasty. I am down to no sugar and 1% milk these days.
Grandma, these boys are destined for greatness. Luke, you need a bit longer hair, but you are getting there.

I wonder if they'll extort money from their sisters washing dishes?

Photos

What is your guess about the kids reaction to horse back riding? Lucy these shots are dedicated to you.







This is Killer. He lives in the culvert under the road which takes you to the main offices and a number of houses (like Grandma and Grandpa's). The senior missionaries go walking in the morning and always see him there. I think they were the ones that named him. He has been there for about a year and half -sometimes with very little water. I wonder what he eats?
We went "on an adventure" (Luke loves to go hiking and on adventures lately- and everything on the ranch is an adventure). We found this little critter on the way and had fun looking it up in grandpa's field guide when we returned home. I don't remember what it is, but it is not a rattle snake.
Allie car shopping...
This red-eyed palmetto hat lady cracked us up along the way.
Out hiking w/ grandpa

We Give Thanks!

I am certain you know how it is after a long (and extremely fun) trip. There is so much catching up to do. We have a lot of photos of our fantastically fun Florida furlow that are just begging to be posted. So yes, there are more to come but I wanted to at least post a few tonight.

Thanksgiving morning was cool and foggy. We looked out the back window and who should be there to greet us on this national day of thanks? A turkey. Fortunately for him Grandpa had already been defrosting our turkey for the last two days.
And another fowl visitor to the back yard- a hawk.

And a few silly geese...
I know it has already passed but we give thanks for all of you- our family a friends. We hope you had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Dare Devils

Monday we went to Sea World. The kids, especially Allie, were super excited...
They wanted your firstborn child as an entrance fee, but Allie was the only one tall enough to go on some of the rides, so we managed to get in another way.
We found a kids section that had a ton of cool little rides- a bit like a state fair, but the rides look like they won't fall apart and aren't 40 years old. One of the best was some sort of free-fall crab ride. The ladies that ran it were nice and let Wesley in. Hmmm...


BEFORE:
DURING: (it was hilarious for me to just see a little blond, then only a pair of tennis shoes)
WWEEEEEEEE...
The real trouble came at the end of the ride. Everyone thought he was terrified. But we know our son's crys and this one was of the infuriated variety. He was furious that the ride stopped going up! He sat there and screamed for a few minutes until finally he was unlatched and was dragged off crying pointing back at the ride.
Tuesday we drove over to Busch Gardens in Tampa. (Yes, you are right, we'll leave Disney for another day- or decade). It poured rain the entire drive over- probably New Mexico's annual amount. When we arrived it stopped raining hard and the park was deserted- so much so we thought it was closed. We had most of the place to ourselves and started in the kids section.
We realized that Joy and I could go on some crazy rides because there was no one in line. We found some roller coasters that Allie could go on. She is quite the little dare devil. This is a little more relaxed single car ride.


I took her on this roller coaster next. It had a few loops and was pretty quick. She had a good time, I think, but...used her vocabulary when she was done. She is always using the phrase "little bit." I asked how she liked the ride and she said it was a "little bit too bumpy, and a little bit too fast." This is a very Allie thing to say. She thought a little bit more then said "no Dad, it was a lot bit too bumpy and a lot bit too fast."

Joy and I rode this thing. You just look at it (web shot) and think that's just not right:
The photo does not do justice. It takes you to the top of this cliff, holds you there over the edge so you can see down, then waits a random amount of time and drops you straight 90° down. Here is your distinguished author waving to his daughter at the bottom of the drop:
Here is a shot of Allie learning to drive:
One of the greatest hits was the log ride. We never waited once and all had a good go of it (except Wesley). I'm surprised that our kids did so well. Or, maybe you should be the judge:
The idea of making a funny face for the camera was good in theory and always started well.
But always seemed to fall apart by the bottom (click the photo).

Miserable

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa if Florida is such a miserable experience. You can see it all over our kids' faces. So much wide open grass to run through. If it isn't wide open grass, you are climbing through jungle- ducking under palm leaves, scrambling over roots, wild life every where.

You learn crazy things- like how to drink from a house...
that you can make great sand balls to throw with Florida soil...
that baby cows named Scrappy who run around and play and think they are a dog... are still babies and sometimes need to rest...
that on rare occasions on back roads while looking for alligators (and seeing them) and finding wild hogs and armadillos you don't always have to wear a seat belt...
although you do have to be inside the truck when it moving. All very miserable.

The only pleasure to be had is putting kids to bed at 6PM New Mexico time (or was that putting them to bed from 6PM to, say, 9PM- again, and again, and again).

Misery does love company- Jay, Ilene and Andrew are coming out for the pity party Wednesday night.