Megan's Wedding

Cam and I were so excited to go to Ohio to see these two people get married! Megan and I have been friends forever now, and I was honored to be a part of the whole shindig.

Photo Credit

Isn't she a gorgeous bride?

The wedding was perfect. It was dripping with personal touches: the DIY fabric table overlays, the Mr. and Mrs. chair garlands, the ever so sweet bridal party introductions, the musical arrangements and the list could go on and on.

Congratulations Megan and Malachy!

July 9, 2011

CA Family Reunion and Disneyland 2011

This year for the Jacobson/Roskelley family reunion, our parents invited us out to a timeshare on the beach in San Luis Obispo California. And, since we were going to CA anyway, we decided to add on a trip to Disneyland. We got a great travel package with Costco and I would definitely do it again!

Jake with his Cousins: Gabe and Noah in Solvang where we stopped to shop and eat lunch. Laura and Brian stayed there, but Cam and I stayed the night in Loma Linda. The hotel we stayed in was cheap but clean! A perfect combo!

After arriving in San Luis, we spent a full day at the beach.

This is what Josh, Cassi and a few other family members did to pass their time.

Before we took off from San Luis Obispo, we took a series of family photos which included this little gem. :)

Cam and I thought that taking the "scenic" route down to Anaheim would be fun, so we hopped onto what we thought was the PCH, and maybe it was, but it was torture. When we could see the ocean, we drove at 15 mph and Jake screamed out in boredom. I had to pee and there were absolutely NO services. Eventually Jake fell asleep and was asleep for maybe an hour when he woke up and ... Puked. ugh. It was awful. There was literally no where to stop. I cared for Jake the best I could until Cam pulled off in a private country club parking lot so that we could clean Jake up a bit. Not two seconds into our endeavor - a golf cart-driving security guard came to check on us. Luckily, he let us stay for a minute. Too bad he didn't let me pee... Anyway, I share this on my blog for all to see so that maybe I will remember that in the future the PCH on a weekend with construction is NOT the way to go. :) Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

All car-sicknesses subsided, we had an AWESOME trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Jake loved Autopia.

We ate Dole Whips... twice, among other amazing foods including our character dining at Goofy's Kitchen. I highly recommend character dining. Seriously. It was the highlight of this trip.

We enjoyed our three days in Disneyland. We were traveling with newborn baby Ella, so we took our time. We rode all the main rides at least once. Cameron worked on his squashed penny collection and I pin traded. Jake was mesmerized by the action. He loved the characters and took pictures with several of them. He learned all of the main character's names and yelled them out every time he saw one displayed somewhere... which was all the time. It was fun to take a two year old and we are excited to make it back soon!

Marcia's Quilt

Sometimes really good people find their way into our lives, and around here, we have been blessed to know some really amazing people.

My friend Marcia made this quilt for Jake just because she could and he loves it.

He says, "NO! My Blanket!" if you ever dare to cuddle underneath it without his permission.

It will be treasured forever.

Thanks Marcia!

Fourth of July

This post is picture-less. :( My camera's sd card became corrupted. Sad day.

Jake and I spent the Fourth with Laura, Brian and Gabe at Schnepf Farms. Noah was camping with a friend and Cameron was working so we all planned an evening out with the two little kiddos.

Laura brought all kinds of light up toys and the two boys played and giggled all the way up to show time. Their favorite game was throwing the glow necklaces in the air and watching them spin and then bounce on the grass when they landed.

Jake loved the fireworks, and I loved watching him drift into that magical mesmerized-child land as he watched them burst. :) It was too much fun to watch for this mommy.

Uncle Jonathan's House

Last month when it was cooler outside, we got together with Erik, Melinda and Camden at Jonathan's new house. Jonathan was so patient with our kiddos and made us some delicious chicken, potatoes and veggies all on the grill. (Of course in true bachelor style.)

Here's Melinda and Camden playing in the grass.

Here's all the boys playing soccer.

This was while Jake was in Tiny Tots, so he was really into Soccer.

Uncle Jonathan spinning Jake. They bonded this gathering. Uncle Jonathan even cut Jake's hair into a Military high and tight.

And, of all the good things that came out of a fun evening with friends, I think this little number cannot be forgotten. We discovered the brownie/cookie combo! Yum!

Photography Practice

Erik, Melinda and Camden asked me to do some family pictures for them and of course I said yes!

I love being able to practice all of the things I have learned in my photography classes.

Plus, I am now learning about Photoshop actions.

Anyway, I think this shoot turned out cute, so I am sharing. :)

Swim Lesson Video

This is just a short video of Jake kicking around at swim lessons with Daddy.

Swim Lessons 2011

At the end of last summer, Jake was jumping into pools to whoever would catch him, so naturally we thought that this year would be THE year to get Jake into swim lessons and that he would LOVE it. Um, no. It seemed to just be "in the water" or something. His teacher was super nice, but all of the kids just had a rough go of it in the beginning. As the water temperature warmed up Jake became a little more brave but never fully performed all the tasks. He wouldn't stick his head in the water to grab a fish and on his bad days wouldn't jump from the side to Daddy. He did, however, kick around on the kick board, climb out of the water unassisted, monkey climb around the pool edge and jump to Daddy on his good days! We can't wait to get him back into the water next year and see if we can get him to be a little swimmer yet.

A Tiny Tots Video

This was one of the creative ways that Jake's Tiny Tot's instructor kept the kids active (and in the shade) for the basketball portion if Tiny Tots. Jake loved this as long as both Cam and I took up our posts to make sure he went back up to do it again instead of heading off to a different slide. Silly Kid!

A Few Words About Tiny Tots

We finished up our six weeks of Tiny Tots. Jake was a little hard to handle during each session, but I think it was a good soft break-in for organized activities.

He loved running up and down the field playing red light, green light even though he almost never stopped for red light.

Soccer was probably his favorite sport, but we did discover that Jake can throw quite well.

By the time basketball came around it was getting pretty hot even in the early mornings and it was pretty difficult to keep Jake involved... the little stinker! But overall, I think it was a worthwhile experience. And, we are already planning on doing the program again in the Fall!

Mini Payne Family Reunion

When Tim and Tami came back to the states from Korea at the beginning of April, we Paynes definitely needed some family time. :) Cam and I called this week the Mini-Payne Family StayCation Reunion.

Our time together was PACKED full of activities:

First, there was the welcome party for the exhausted traveling Payne family.

Plenty of movie watching for the kids.

Some guitar Hero for the adults.

An Italian lunch for the girls.

Husking, stirring, and chopping for many meals.

Hair bow and jewelry making.

A trip to the Mesa Southwest Museum.

An afternoon in the sun watching Kaylee play basketball!

Family Pictures

Tim's birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

A lunch at Chino Bandito's.

A chicken coupe built.

A trip the the Temple and many lazy nights around the piano.

A few naps, some shopping and lots of hugs.

Here's Jake with Rance panning for gold.

Jake LOVED being one of the big kids this week.

All the kids in the learning center of the museum.

And, Jake with Auntie Tami discovering his love for the iPad. :)

Payne Family Pictures

Have you ever wondered what the production of photographing a family of 25 on a railroad track in downtown Gilbert might look like? Well, here you go:

In March while having our Payne Family Reunion StayCation welcoming Tim and Tami back to the states, we also did some family pictures.

The guys put on their "cool".

The ladies showed off their glamour.

And the kids showed their best sides.

Oh, and we all squoosed onto some active railroad tracks all in the name of style.

Photography by Jake

I always find funny pictures on my camera or phone that were obviously taken by someone about 3 feet tall and with a pesky pointer finger that just doesn't know how to stay out of the way. This particular set is from a day when I had a couple moms here and a few extra kids. I kind of love the pictures. They tell a lot about Jake.

He loves this movie - Cars. And, this is his favorite part.

Jessica helping Alaina with her shoes or something.

Jake's buddy, Zack.

And, the stairs.

This really made me think about how scary these things must be to a two year old.

What do ya think? Do you think there is a career in photography in his future? haha

Jake Flying a Kite Video

While we were out flying kites a few weeks ago, and I was laying in the grass taking in the day, Jake came and sat on my tummy and we had this conversation. He LOVES my cameras and thinks they are his to play with... haha.

Flying a Kite

This is the last of my old posts. Yay! One very windy day, while hanging out with Cam's sister, Karleen, we decided we should take advantage of the wind and fly a kite! Jake loved it, and the wind couldn't have been more perfect. It was easy to get kites up and even easier to keep them going.

Here's Cam in the perfect father/son kite flying experience picture.

Jake took this picture while lying next to me on the ground while I hung onto the kite.

And, this was as we were leaving. The wind was strong enough to get a kite flying even this low to the ground. :)

Stay tuned for some video!

Lasagna

The other night I made Rebecca Greer's famous Lasagna. The recipe was simple enough for me, but tasted fantastic.

I doubled the recipe and made (1) 11x7 pan and (2) 8x8 pans. I froze the 8x8s before baking them by covering them tightly with plastic wrap and then foil. And, because Rebecca is smart, I followed her advice to write on the package, "Remove Plastic Wrap." :) It's the little things, I tell ya. Anyway, here it is!:

Lasagna

2 c. cooked hamburger

1/2 c. onion

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

30 oz spaghetti sauce

2lb non-fat cottage cheese

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 c. shredded cheddar

1/2 c parmesan cheese

8 oz pkg of Lasagna noodles (dry)

Mix spaghetti sauce with hamburger, onion and garlic. Spread 1/2 of sauce mixture on bottom of 9x13 pan. Layer with dry noodles, break to fit. Spread 1/2 of the cottage cheese, followed by 1 c. mozzarella and 1 c. cheddar cheese. repeat process, starting with the sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake and 400 degrees. 1 hr. uncovered for first 20 min and covered for last 40. Let stand 5-10 min.

Try it. You wont regret it.

Mormon Date Night

Cam and I went out last night for an actual date! *Gasp!* We've been out with friends and we have been "out" shopping without Jake. Heck, we have even called family dinner out,with Jake, a date recently. :)

Anyway, It was Ward Temple Night and so we thought that we should try and make it to the temple. We started the night off with dinner at Cafe Rio, no Jake along this time, and then headed off to the temple. After the temple we made a trip to Deseret Book where Cam picked out about 20 books and then had to painfully narrow it down to two! It was fun to walk around for a while and show each other the books and things that we were interested in. A good date activity, I think.

We finished the night with Bahama Bucks, and it was as we were driving home we discovered that we had just Mormon Date'd it.

Cafe Rio, Temple, Deseret Book and Bahama Bucks? Yeah. Totally Mormon, but totally fun.

Soccer Star

Today was Jake's first day of Tiny Tots. Tiny Tots is a program in Maricopa for 2 -3 year olds to learn the basics of 3 sports: Soccer, t-ball and basketball. Today was soccer.

(I apologize that I don't have pictures. I spent more time participating than I thought I would have to! Next week!)

First off, I am glad we started with Soccer, because Jake LOVES soccer. I think it is because Curious George plays soccer. :) But, he recognizes soccer and can say, "soccer" very well. So, as we got ready this morning, (in his soccer shorts and tennies, of course) he kept saying, "Soccer? Soccer?" He was VERY excited that we were going to play soccer with friends.

I am sure I will share more about his sports as the next 6 weeks progress, so I wont go into too much play by play, but when they first started out by playing red light, green light and running the full length of the soccer field and Jake just took off as happy as could be - my heart fluttered with a bit of pride. :) And, he took to dribbling the ball like a natural! I was a a proud mama.

And, when 35 minutes hit and he wanted to go play at the park instead of finishing soccer, I held him while he threw a fit and he missed out on kicking the ball into the goal. - I was not such a happy mama, but I think he learned a valuable lesson. (As did I. He will now get a bigger breakfast before soccer.)

Anyway, it was a fun start to our very busy summer! I can't wait to practice with him at home. (I totally bought him a little size 3 soccer ball. ;p ) He has to learn to stand in line. Not use his hands. Stomp the ball, then kick. knock over a cone with the ball. And, listen well enough to play red light green light. :)

The Case of the Missing Poop

Funny Story:

I'm babysitting another little boy Jake's age and they are playing in the backyard when Jake comes in naked holding his diaper. (He is really ready to potty train, but I SO want to wait until after our 2 weeks of vacation to really worry about it.)

Anyway, Naked Jake hands me his diaper. "I pooped!" But, there are no signs of poop in his diaper. So, I think to myself, he peed. He misused the terminology and I bring him over to the diapers to put a new one on him. This is where I notice that his bum is a little dirty...

After he has his new diaper on and I have been listening to him all the while say, "I pooped, Mommy! I pooped." I decide to ask him to show me where he pooped. He proceeds to take my hand and lead me outside to where he points to a wet spot on the gravel... Still, no poop.

I am calling it The Case of the Missing Poop. I could have looked harder for it, but for what reason? I should say that leading up to this, Jake has been showing lots of interest in the dog poop in the backyard and I have told him that the backyard is where the doggies go potty. I should have know this day was coming.

Marching for Babies, Rain or Shine

This year we walked in the March of Dimes, March for Babies fundraiser. Being parents of a preemie, we were surprised that we didn't know anything about the event. Some friends of ours just recently lost their son to a birth defect, and were walking in this event so we decided we should join up too. We walked with their team which was actually joined up with another team... complicated. Anyhow it didn't matter. We were all there supporting infant death research and memorializing our angel babies in a very small way.

For an April, it was cold... and very wet.... and COLD.

Did I mention it was cold?

Cam and I loaded our stroller with extra blankets and jackets and I think they all got used.

The group before we started.

Me and Cam.

I love this picture. :)

Rebecca and me along the walk.

Jake and Daddy after Jake wanted out of his stroller. Notice his ski jacket? He actually stayed in the stroller most of the time. I think he was warm and toasty in there. I couldn't blame him! My hands were frozen and numb.

Rebecca, Cameron and Justin

The kiddos. Of course Jake didn't want to stand still!

The group after!

The four of us.

Rebecca and her family made each of the 30 shirts. Because we had a premie ours said "Corynn, Maddie's Mommy" or "Cameron, Maddie's Daddy"

Jake's said "Little Brother". So cute.

Our family. We plan on walking next year so stay tuned for my fundraising ploys!

** As always, you can click on Maddie's picture on my side bar to donate to her March of Dimes Band. We traditionally donate on her birthday, December 28th.