Things I'm not ready for

It's been a busy, crazy summer full of things I really never thought would happen. Like my twenty year homecoming at good o'l Spanish Fork High, and my oldest child in sixth grade, (sixth grade!), and my baby going off to preschool. I turned around and twenty years flew by! The next thing I knew I came in to find out what my kids were cracking up about only to find them perusing our yearbooks! I used to be cool. I mean, not as cool as Jason-mullet-peck-Payne cool, but who is?

So, when are you ready for your son to mercilessly mock you about being nearly 40? Or attend your high school drill team reunion and find yourself with the "older" 80's crowd where they teach you a military dance because your not flexible enough for the hip-hop the 2000's are doing?

I had a blast from the past kind of a weekend during SFHS homecoming. Our class did an assembly where we showed them what living in the 80's was really like! Then our drill team put on the half-time show for the football game. It was almost like being back in high school, except this time Angie and I didn't try to sneak out of the block after half time to get ready for the Palace, and I actually watched the game sitting next to a big stud from our high school (alot of you know him as Jason). Good times.

yep, more of the DR

We went on a little excursion with the dune buggys, these are the before and afters. there was some mud.

be glad this isn't a power point presentation

our friends bought a membership at this exclusive resort and invited us to stay the last few days we were there. this is the 6 bedroom villa and our personal chef. also the vip beach with the sushi bar. oh, and this is our friend Steve, or as we fondly refer to him, Esteve, our golf cart driver that came with the villa

Republica de Dominica or my new home

We just returned from a paradise vacation in the DR. Wow. I really loved it there! We've decided that all-inclusive is definitely the way to go. ( especially if you're looking to gain around 6 pounds) One hour massages for 25$, yep one every day. Cabana boys at your disposal for your every pina colada need. Step out from your room into the beautiful, warm, clear water for the best snorkling we've found. What's not to love?

humidity

So, while we were in the Dominican Republic my hair took on a life of it's own. It was mostly wet all day while we were in the ocean ect., but at night eventually it would dry and um, how should we say it, frizz. It was so fantastically big that I kept trying to get Jason to take pictures of it when we were alone in our room. ( if we were out, then I had to scrape it up in a clip as I was without a baseball cap) but he got bored of that really quick and this was one of the only ones he would take. Sadly, as the week wore on, my hair got frizzier and bigger but I don't have much photographic evidence to offer. Do you remember that episode on "Friends" where they all went to Jamaica or somewhere and Monica's hair didn't respond really well to the humidity....

as per request, more of Ja'Naye's dress

Thwarted again

It's been a bit of a quest of mine to procure a current family photo of the entire Ron Payne family for some time now. What with my sister-in-law living out of state, my mother-in-law insisting on family friends in every picture, and a general feeling of ambivalence towards formal pictures, my quest has been a challenge indeed. There have been some near misses sure. Take my sister-in-laws' wedding last April. Perfect time to catch the whole family in at least one or two shots right? I mean they all have to be there for the family wedding pic wouldn't you think? but alas, it's not meant to be. Due to a overflowing water heater, two vip's were missing in action in that photo. Oh sure, there were promises of photo shopping them in, but that never materialized and here I was back to ground zero.

Then this last weekend another opportunity came up. Jason's other sister Ja'Naye's upcoming nuptials filled me with anticipation and hope. I decided to take matters into my own hands (camera) as I never seem to be able to order any pictures from any of the photographers that are hired for these sorts of events. I consorted with Cameron's girlfriend, Shana for the hope of winning the prize. I pointed out all who had or still used the last name Payne and told her to shoot like mad right behind the photographer whenever these people stood all together. The moment arrived, just as we were all assembled and looking at the camera, someone yelled out "go get Mary and the boys!" ( family friends) So as I signaled to Shana to snap one while it was clear, my Mother-in-law turned around to tell me she had it all under control! Well, the outcome is pretty clear. I'll let you be the judge. Maybe next time....