Weldon and Randa Payne and our little family: letter 7/13/2016

Ok so update time for me. I got distracted yesterday reading through past updates and had fun doing that. I love seeing how things have changed for us and remembering things that the kids did or said. I love having kids and being a mom. They make life interesting and very entertaining. A few weeks ago Weldon had a job interview in Indiana so the kids and I took him to the airport in Phoenix and then stayed at a hotel for three days while he was gone. I was excited but a little nervous about having four little kids by myself in a hotel for three days. It was awesome though. We had so much fun. We had a suite that had a kitchen and stuff so that was really nice because I got stuff like popcorn and ice cream sandwiches and lunch stuff so we didn’t have to eat out all of the time. We went to the Arizona Wildlife zoo and aquarium and that was really neat, we only got to see a fraction of what they had because the kids got tired and hungry and it was hot so we just called it and went back to the hotel to rest. It was really expensive to get in but I figured we were farther ahead to leave while everyone was still happy then to try and tough it out and see everything and drag grumpy tired kids around. We went swimming and the next day went to a train museum in Scottsdale that was pretty neat, we got to ride a little train and a merry go round and had a good time there. I really enjoyed just being there with the kids and going and doing fun things with them. We were sure glad to see Daddy though. We went to the airport a little early to surprise him and meet him at the gate rather than just in the parking lot like we had talked about. The kids thought it was pretty neat to watch the planes roll up to the gates and we even got to see the one Weldon was on. We were happy to see him and that was fun.

Right now as I am typing Weldon is flying home from a job interview in Ohio. He was supposed to get home last night but his flight kept being delayed because of bad weather and was finally cancelled all together. They were setting up cots in the airport for everyone stuck there to sleep on but Weldon was lucky and was able to get one of the last available hotel rooms, except when he got there he was too nervous about oversleeping and missing his flight in the morning that he wasn’t able to sleep anyway and ended up going back to the airport around 3 am to get through all of the security before it got too busy. Then his flight was delayed a few more times but now he is finally on his way. We are hopeful that he gets this job. It would be hard to leave but it would be an exciting adventure! Here the kids are swimming in plastic bins while he was gone.

We have been a little sick here, nothing that seems too bad, just a bit of a fever that lasts a day or two. Well yesterday Colton told me he kinda liked being sick because he got treated like a king. I rolled my eyes and gave him a dirty look and he laughed and said “ just kidding mom, thanks for taking care of me!” Haha he did enjoy laying around in my robe and on a heating pad all day. Colton is always saying funny things and using big words, even if sometimes he uses them wrong. We can usually tell what he is trying to say though. A while ago we were driving the back country byway to Morenci and past a group of cows out grazing, we could see a big bull standing in the shade up on the hill. Weldon pointed him out and Colton says “yeah he is just standing up there trying to look good and ‘repress’(impress) the girls!” One time Weldon’s parents asked Colton how he knew so many big words, he shrugged his shoulders and said “from movies mostly, but you need to be careful because you can learn bad words from movies too, like the Goonies, I learned the word (in a whisper) ‘shit’ from that movie and was saying it at school until mom and dad told me it was a bad word!” I was laughing so hard overhearing this conversation, and its true too, he told us he would say that word whenever the bell would ring to say recess was over, he had no idea that it was a bad word. Fast forward a few weeks and we were on a picnic in our minivan and ended up going down a really rough road. It was so bad. So So bad, I don’t even think many four wheeled vehicles would attempt it and if we got stuck we were just outta luck because no tow truck could come get us, but we were going mostly downhill and there was no way we could turn around and go back up so we would go as far as we could and then we would take turns getting out and directing the driver over the crevasses and around the boulders in the road. It took us an hour and a half to go about a mile or so. Well during a particularly rough section poor Pepper (the dog) got really car sick and puked in the van just as we scraped bottom and poor stressed out Weldon said ‘shit’ really quietly under his breath but somehow the kids heard him. Kaci gasped and said “Daddy that’s a bad word!” And Colton shakes his head disapprovingly and says “yeah Dad, we learn from you, ya know!” Weldon had to apologize and we had a good chuckle about that later, but it’s true, these little people are like sponges! We made it out of that mess and the van did too! The next week we had to put Pepper down because the vet found cancer. It was really rough, especially as I had all four kids with me at the vet’s office and we were all crying our eyes out. Weldon was so sweet, he took work off and went to the vet and picked up her body and called Mom to see if we could bury her out at their place. It was really so sweet and considerate of him and it help give us some closure because I was so upset and just trying to take care of the sad kids that I didn’t even think about that. He sure is a good guy and I love him so much. The next week we went to Tucson and picked up Shadow, our current dog. He is a good dog and the kids love him and he loves them too.

Sweet Kaci made me laugh the other day because she was playing a shark game on the iPad. In the game you are the shark and you can eat people and stuff (morbid I know, yet strangely entertaining!) anyway the shark had swam past a scuba diver and the scuba diver stabbed the shark so Kaci had the shark turn around and eat the diver, then very matter of factly she says “and that’s what you get for stabbin’ me!” There she was in her pink dress with her hair done up all cute and her pink lipstick on, and having her shark eat scuba divers. She is my sweet snuggle girl who loves all things girly and pink. And boy does she love babies. She told me yesterday that she loves loves babies, even if they are boy babies! It is cute to watch her play baby dolls and sometimes she will ask me to play with her, I try to as much as I can just because she doesn’t have any one here to play with, at least not the way she wants too. When the boys play with her the games end up being a little less like “house” and a little more like “hunger games” she is not a fan of that. She likes to have her nails painted and it is really cute because she can talk Weldon into doing that for her and she will sit on the table while he sits there all hunched over and paints her little fingers and toes. One time when he was done she said “Thank you Daddy!” and then hopped off the table to come show me in the other room and in a whisper she tells me “I just didn’t tell Daddy this because I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but he isn’t very good at painting my nails, I just think he needs more practice!” He has done her nails several times since then and we agree that he has gotten much better at it.

Preston is a goofball who is never quit as happy as when he is pestering someone. His little eyes sparkle and you can tell he is just having so much fun, of course it is less fun for whomever he is pestering. He is also a huge Mama’s boy and I love it! He has to give me kisses several times before bed and wants to snuggle me any chance he gets. He comes and give me kisses first thing in the morning and then gives me my glasses and proclaims that he is starving and I need to fix ‘bleckfast’. He also gives me kisses wherever he can almost every time he walks by me. I have gotten used to kisses on my arms and stomach and if I am standing even on my bum, pretty much whatever part of me he is next to and can kiss. If I go anywhere he thinks he ought to as well. But most importantly I have had the honor bestowed upon me of being the only person allowed to wipe him after he goes potty. Yep, I feel the love from that honor. Weldon thinks this is hilarious and totally uses it to his advantage, when Preston yells that he is done Weldon will yell back that he is coming but then Preston yells, “no, Mama!” and Weldon will give me a sneaky smirk and say “well I tried”. Haha oh well.

Oh my sweet baby Owen, what to tell about him… He is getting such a personality. He can say a few words and it is fun trying to decode him and figure out what he wants. We have learned that he loves his ‘OOOSH’ (shoes) and wants to wear them all day long!! I hide his from him, but he is not picky and will wear anyones. This is particularly entertaining when he is clunking around the house with high heels on. He hates swimming but loves his bath, loves to laugh and give kisses. Oh baby kisses are just the sweetest! Instead of a pucker he just sucks his cheeks in so he has a fish face and that is how he give kisses. His favorite word is “no” He doesn’t say it and tell us ‘no’, but he says it over and over while he is doing something he is not supposed too, like get in the trash or play in the dogs water. Then when we find him and our ‘no’ joins his he thinks it is pretty funny. He is also not supposed to drop food off of his tray for Shadow but one time when he thought I wasn’t looking he dropped a noodle over and when he looked up and saw me watching him he put on the most innocent face and shrugged his little shoulders and said “uh oh”. The little goose. He is so funny and makes me laugh all the time. He also says “moyee, moyee!” which means “more More!” and he is very persistant and loud if he wants something he isn’t getting. He says mama and daddy, and dadow (shadow) uh huh, night night, love you, and probably some more things I don’t recognize yet. He loves music and love to dance and sing along. He is just the happiest little guy and we are so glad we have him in our family. Well I know I should type more but my fingers are tired, so I am not going to. Life is beautiful and we have so many things to be grateful for. I love my family and wouldn’t change a thing about any of them. Owen also had hernia surgery. That was sure hard for Weldon and I to see. We were so worried about him, thankfully Monie and Papa were willing to watch the other kids as well as Shadow.

Here are some pictures of some of our adventures. A trip to the cliff dwellings and our day camping trip up to blackjack where we roasted marshmallows and cooked hamburgers and set up Weldon's hammock. also a picture of Weldon's 30 birthday. We are so lucky to have this guy... he is seriously the best!!

This is a picture of Weldon with a rattlesnake that he killed with a slingshot. He is crazy good with a slingshot and we go out snake hunting several nights a week where we just drive down roads in the middle of nowhere looking for snakes and shooting our slingshots at signs along the way. haha pretty redneck but seriously so much fun. the kids love it too, they call it our roller coaster because of all the bumps and hills we go over.

So Weldon got hired by Eaton in Van Wert Ohio. I got to go up with him and find a place to rent in Fort Wayne Indiana. it was really fun to just go somewhere with Weldon but I missed my babies so bad I cried every night we were gone. We are excited and nervous to move. Here are some pictures of our trip to Indiana/Ohio as well as some of the fun things we have done in AZ before moving.