For the seven years that we’ve lived in this house our basement has been a place for storing stuff. One year, Cari asked me to clean the basement for her birthday present. I still haven’t given her that birthday present, but we made some progress last weekend by making the kids a mini ‘man-cave’. It’s nothing fancy but it gives the kids, especially Levi and Samuel, a place to go and play video games, read, or just get away. The man-cave consists of a lot of stuff that was mine as a kid: a 13” TV, Nintendo (that’s about 20 years old), CD player, a Garfield clock, and some sports stuff that I’ve collected over the years.
Below are some pictures of the cave and some miscellaneous pictures from the month of September. Enjoy.
Chris
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Adventures in Babysitting
The past few weeks have been different than normal in the Payne house. With Cari suffering from constant headaches for the past several weeks our normal routine has changed a bit. We have been very blessed to get some help with meals from our church family and offers from people to watch our kids when Cari has different doctor’s appointments.
We have received a lot of help from our friend Julie. She has been available several times when Cari had appointments and I was not able to get away from work. On Thursday Cari had an MRI and MRA to try and figure out what has been causing the headaches. Julie agreed to watch the kids, which included picking up the two oldest from school and taking them to her house. The plan was that we would pick the kids up from her house after the appointment.
Now I’ll try to make a long story short. After the appointment we went to her house to find that no one was there. We knocked on the door, walked around the house and found no one. I called Julie on her cell phone and found out that she was in the urgent care. What had happened was that after she picked the kids up from school they went to a local park to play. While a couple of the kids were playing on the playground she took two of the kids on the stage of the amphitheater. When she went to step down she missed a step and broke a couple of bones in her foot. You don’t expect the babysitter to get hurt when watching four boys. I guess if you’re going to watch the Payne boys you need to have good health insurance.
Regarding the MRI/MRA, we are still waiting on the results from the MRI. The MRA was unsuccessful because there was interference from Cari’s braces. She has another scan scheduled for later this week that should not have a problem with the patient wearing braces.
We’ll keep you posted on what we find out.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Josiah's Birthday Weekend
Enjoy the pictures and videos (including Josiah singing 'Happy Birthday' to himself) of Josiah's Birthday weekend. The theme of the birthday was guitars and motorcycles.
Chris
Chris
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Nathanael's Big Boy Bed
It was a big day in the Payne house last weekend. We took the crib down (which had been up for over 8 years) and put up Nathanael's new bed. He loves his new bed and seems to sleep better in the bed than in the crib. Pictures are below.
Chris
Chris
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Nathanael Being Nathanael
I bet we all wish we had this much energy at 6:45 in the morning.
Enjoy
Chris
Enjoy
Chris
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Cabin Vacation 2009
This blog entry contains daily entries from our vacation. The entries contain pictures to go along with the text for each day. With an 11 day vacation it makes for a lot of entries.
The annual cabin trip is full of traditions, most of which were fulfilled this year, but there were some things that always happen that did not happen this year.
-No boat ride
-Absence of the term ‘International Calorie Line’
-No ‘monkey bread’
-No Turtle Races
We still had our annual traditions of: the pizza place, the candy store, walking through shops in Walker, MN, making at least one trip to Godfrey’s, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fig Newtons, bonfires, cabin coffee, at least one episode of ‘The Price is Right’, etc.
Enjoy
Chris
Day 1 (Wednesday, August 5)
The Payne’s were out the door at 6:00 am on Wednesday morning to head to the cabin. The boys were very excited. Samuel and Levi were ready to go at 5:30. We stopped in the little town of Royalton, MN for a picnic lunch and we made it to the cabin in about 7 hours of driving time. The kids traveled very well and we were all glad to be at the cabin. Grandma & Grandpa were there along with Andy and Molly.
After dinner we played a game of family kickball. It was fun seeing everyone get involved in the game. It seems like all the kids wanted to do in the evening was play some type of sports game.
Day 2 (Thursday, August 6)
The morning started with Andy and Molly making blueberry pancakes. (Technically this was Nathanael and Josiah’s second breakfast since they had already had cereal and pop tarts because they were up so early.) Along with the pancakes we enjoyed some crisp (some of it was very crisp and made the smoke alarm go off) bacon.
Cari and I like to go to lunch during our vacation since we have free babysitting available. This year we went to a little café in Pine River.
The boys enjoyed outside activities including baseball and swimming. They didn’t actually swim, but they did have fun with Andy throwing water bombs at each other. The water was still cool, but they had a good time.
We concluded the night by enjoying a bonfire and Smores. Andy got a few good pictures of the group in hooded sweatshirts. Hopefully I’ll get a picture from him and be able to share it on the blog.
Day 3 (Friday, August 7)
Benson’s Eating & Drinking Emporium is the location of the traditional ‘pizza place’ meal. Every summer the family spends an afternoon in Walker enjoying pizza, walking through shops, and of course; going to the candy store. This year was a very cool one in Walker. Most of us wished we were wearing sweatshirts instead of t-shirts. The evening was spent playing a game and eating ice cream sundaes.
Day 4 (Saturday, August 8)
Today was a cloudy and dreary day. We didn’t see the sun until about 7:30 pm. This morning we enjoyed a movie with the entire family. The kids brought out their sleeping bags and we enjoyed some popcorn. Later in the morning we discovered how many shoes we all had in a pile. We thought it was funny, so of course we had to take a picture.
During the afternoon Chris went to town for a bit while Marie, Cari, and Andy played Scrabble. Chris was stubborn and had said in advance that he didn’t want to play because he was tired of losing to Marie everytime they play Scrabble. Cari and Andy made a good attempt, but they were no match for Marie.
Later in the evening we enjoyed a game of ‘monkey in the middle’ and got to see a nice sunset.
Day 5 (Sunday, August 9)
Faith Assembly of God in Pine River, MN is the location of our church while on vacation. With the exception of the year that we went to the Baptist church (which is kind of a funny story if you’d like to hear more about it sometime), we have been going to Pine River for the last several years.
After worshiping with the people of Pine River we headed back to the cabin for the final lunch before the West’s headed back home. After lunch we said our goodbye’s to the West’s as they headed back to St. Paul.
Not long after they left Levi said that he was bored. While going through the shelves he found a poker set. He must have been really bored, because after finding the poker set he decided to correctly arrange all of the chips by color. I thought it was funny so you’ll find a picture of it in the album. Later in the day we found some huge mushrooms. You’ll find pictures of those as well.
For dinner we had a feast fit for a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans.
Day 6 (Monday, August 10)
It was laundry day at the cabin. That means a run into town to the laundromat and time for the kids to play on the playground. Cari washed and dried the clothes while Chris took the kids to the playground. Samuel was very proud of himself because he made it across the monkey-bars all by himself (he’s been working on this recently).
Lunch was leftover turkey feast and then nap time. After nap time the kids played outside and we discovered that the huge mushrooms from yesterday had grown even bigger. Dinner was a lot of fun. We did hot dogs over the fire,baked potatoes that we threw right into the fire, and Smores for dessert. After dinner Chris and Levi played a modified version of field hockey. Chris put up a good fight, but Levi won 10-9.
Day 7 (Tuesday, August 11)
Donuts for breakfast and walking across the Mississippi River in our bare feet. What a fun day! Since Nathanael is up so early every morning, Chris took him with to pick up donuts from the local bakery. After enjoying the sugary treats for breakfast, we all got ready to go on a little road trip. With a picnic lunch all packed, we were ready for a trip to the Mississippi River.
Itasca State Park is a nice one hour drive from the cabin. This beautiful park is where you will find the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It’s hard to believe that a river that runs over 2,000 miles, and is very wide in some places, starts out so small that you can walk across it and the water is not even up to your knees. After spending quite a bit of time walking in the water and enjoying one of the trails, we ventured into the visitor center/gift shop. While Cari took the older boys to the gift shop, Chris took the younger two to the small museum. The museum had a lot of interesting facts on the park. I hope you’ll enjoy the picture of Josiah and Nathanael in their park conservation uniforms.
If you’re ever in the Bemidji area we would highly recommend taking a trip to Itasca State Park. You will enjoy it.
On a different note, those mushrooms keep getting bigger and bigger.
Day 8 (Wednesday, August 12)
Hot summer temperatures finally came to Hackensack, MN. With high’s in the 90’s it was a great day for swimming. It was so hot that we were able to swim after lunch and after dinner. The kids had fun and it was good to see Nathanael enjoying the water. He is the first of our kids to go in that water as a toddler and not scream the whole time. Levi enjoyed the water the most; floating on intertubes, throwing splash bombs at mom and dad, and just running around in the water. Samuel and Josiah are still not brave enough to venture too far in the water, but Samuel started to float around on the intertube.
We also spent some time in town going to the weekly flea market. It’s amazing how much ‘junk’ people have to sell that others are willing to buy. There were some cool things there, but nothing that we found to buy.
Day 9 (Thursday, August 13)
Not much planned today but it was a beautiful, hot August day. It was still warm enough to swim at 7 pm. The swim helped with the smoky smell from the bonfire. The kids also enjoyed playing with their Army buys and cell phones they bought from the general store earlier in the day.
Day 10 (Friday, August 14)
Well, we’re down to our last full day at the cabin. A loon came very close to the dock this morning and Chris was able to get some pictures. It would have been nice to have a better zoom, but it was cool watching the loon up close.
Much of the day was spent packing and cleaning. Jonah and Holly arrived later in the day and it was nice to spend some time with them.
We had a great time at the cabin. The weather was great, the kids were good and we had a lot of time to relax.
The annual cabin trip is full of traditions, most of which were fulfilled this year, but there were some things that always happen that did not happen this year.
-No boat ride
-Absence of the term ‘International Calorie Line’
-No ‘monkey bread’
-No Turtle Races
We still had our annual traditions of: the pizza place, the candy store, walking through shops in Walker, MN, making at least one trip to Godfrey’s, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fig Newtons, bonfires, cabin coffee, at least one episode of ‘The Price is Right’, etc.
Enjoy
Chris
Day 1 (Wednesday, August 5)
The Payne’s were out the door at 6:00 am on Wednesday morning to head to the cabin. The boys were very excited. Samuel and Levi were ready to go at 5:30. We stopped in the little town of Royalton, MN for a picnic lunch and we made it to the cabin in about 7 hours of driving time. The kids traveled very well and we were all glad to be at the cabin. Grandma & Grandpa were there along with Andy and Molly.
After dinner we played a game of family kickball. It was fun seeing everyone get involved in the game. It seems like all the kids wanted to do in the evening was play some type of sports game.
Day 2 (Thursday, August 6)
The morning started with Andy and Molly making blueberry pancakes. (Technically this was Nathanael and Josiah’s second breakfast since they had already had cereal and pop tarts because they were up so early.) Along with the pancakes we enjoyed some crisp (some of it was very crisp and made the smoke alarm go off) bacon.
Cari and I like to go to lunch during our vacation since we have free babysitting available. This year we went to a little café in Pine River.
The boys enjoyed outside activities including baseball and swimming. They didn’t actually swim, but they did have fun with Andy throwing water bombs at each other. The water was still cool, but they had a good time.
We concluded the night by enjoying a bonfire and Smores. Andy got a few good pictures of the group in hooded sweatshirts. Hopefully I’ll get a picture from him and be able to share it on the blog.
Day 3 (Friday, August 7)
Benson’s Eating & Drinking Emporium is the location of the traditional ‘pizza place’ meal. Every summer the family spends an afternoon in Walker enjoying pizza, walking through shops, and of course; going to the candy store. This year was a very cool one in Walker. Most of us wished we were wearing sweatshirts instead of t-shirts. The evening was spent playing a game and eating ice cream sundaes.
Day 4 (Saturday, August 8)
Today was a cloudy and dreary day. We didn’t see the sun until about 7:30 pm. This morning we enjoyed a movie with the entire family. The kids brought out their sleeping bags and we enjoyed some popcorn. Later in the morning we discovered how many shoes we all had in a pile. We thought it was funny, so of course we had to take a picture.
During the afternoon Chris went to town for a bit while Marie, Cari, and Andy played Scrabble. Chris was stubborn and had said in advance that he didn’t want to play because he was tired of losing to Marie everytime they play Scrabble. Cari and Andy made a good attempt, but they were no match for Marie.
Later in the evening we enjoyed a game of ‘monkey in the middle’ and got to see a nice sunset.
Day 5 (Sunday, August 9)
Faith Assembly of God in Pine River, MN is the location of our church while on vacation. With the exception of the year that we went to the Baptist church (which is kind of a funny story if you’d like to hear more about it sometime), we have been going to Pine River for the last several years.
After worshiping with the people of Pine River we headed back to the cabin for the final lunch before the West’s headed back home. After lunch we said our goodbye’s to the West’s as they headed back to St. Paul.
Not long after they left Levi said that he was bored. While going through the shelves he found a poker set. He must have been really bored, because after finding the poker set he decided to correctly arrange all of the chips by color. I thought it was funny so you’ll find a picture of it in the album. Later in the day we found some huge mushrooms. You’ll find pictures of those as well.
For dinner we had a feast fit for a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans.
Day 6 (Monday, August 10)
It was laundry day at the cabin. That means a run into town to the laundromat and time for the kids to play on the playground. Cari washed and dried the clothes while Chris took the kids to the playground. Samuel was very proud of himself because he made it across the monkey-bars all by himself (he’s been working on this recently).
Lunch was leftover turkey feast and then nap time. After nap time the kids played outside and we discovered that the huge mushrooms from yesterday had grown even bigger. Dinner was a lot of fun. We did hot dogs over the fire,baked potatoes that we threw right into the fire, and Smores for dessert. After dinner Chris and Levi played a modified version of field hockey. Chris put up a good fight, but Levi won 10-9.
Day 7 (Tuesday, August 11)
Donuts for breakfast and walking across the Mississippi River in our bare feet. What a fun day! Since Nathanael is up so early every morning, Chris took him with to pick up donuts from the local bakery. After enjoying the sugary treats for breakfast, we all got ready to go on a little road trip. With a picnic lunch all packed, we were ready for a trip to the Mississippi River.
Itasca State Park is a nice one hour drive from the cabin. This beautiful park is where you will find the headwaters of the Mississippi River. It’s hard to believe that a river that runs over 2,000 miles, and is very wide in some places, starts out so small that you can walk across it and the water is not even up to your knees. After spending quite a bit of time walking in the water and enjoying one of the trails, we ventured into the visitor center/gift shop. While Cari took the older boys to the gift shop, Chris took the younger two to the small museum. The museum had a lot of interesting facts on the park. I hope you’ll enjoy the picture of Josiah and Nathanael in their park conservation uniforms.
If you’re ever in the Bemidji area we would highly recommend taking a trip to Itasca State Park. You will enjoy it.
On a different note, those mushrooms keep getting bigger and bigger.
Day 8 (Wednesday, August 12)
Hot summer temperatures finally came to Hackensack, MN. With high’s in the 90’s it was a great day for swimming. It was so hot that we were able to swim after lunch and after dinner. The kids had fun and it was good to see Nathanael enjoying the water. He is the first of our kids to go in that water as a toddler and not scream the whole time. Levi enjoyed the water the most; floating on intertubes, throwing splash bombs at mom and dad, and just running around in the water. Samuel and Josiah are still not brave enough to venture too far in the water, but Samuel started to float around on the intertube.
We also spent some time in town going to the weekly flea market. It’s amazing how much ‘junk’ people have to sell that others are willing to buy. There were some cool things there, but nothing that we found to buy.
Day 9 (Thursday, August 13)
Not much planned today but it was a beautiful, hot August day. It was still warm enough to swim at 7 pm. The swim helped with the smoky smell from the bonfire. The kids also enjoyed playing with their Army buys and cell phones they bought from the general store earlier in the day.
Day 10 (Friday, August 14)
Well, we’re down to our last full day at the cabin. A loon came very close to the dock this morning and Chris was able to get some pictures. It would have been nice to have a better zoom, but it was cool watching the loon up close.
Much of the day was spent packing and cleaning. Jonah and Holly arrived later in the day and it was nice to spend some time with them.
We had a great time at the cabin. The weather was great, the kids were good and we had a lot of time to relax.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Samuel's Birthday Weekend
The Payne's spent this weekend celebrating Samuel's birthday. His real birthday is on Monday, but it worked better to do birthday celebrating a little early. We enjoyed a round of mini-golf (Nathanael actually got a hole-in-one, with a little help from mom), dinner at Burger King, and baseball cupcakes. Below you will find a couple of video clips. I have also added a link to some pictures. You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94400&id=513017606&l=75b6610b26
Chris
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94400&id=513017606&l=75b6610b26
Chris
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