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 (11/25/2008): It is great to live in a place where there is a sense of community. One reason we bought our house on Cherry Court was that this neighborhood is awesome. No sidewalks, but everybody knows everyone else. We all joke that we forget names, but if someone comes by who not from the Court, we'll know it (and still wave and say 'hi')! Last night at 6:30 we went the Christmas Parade with another family. It is before Thanksgiving but after the parade we all agreed "so what". This hour long spectacle had tens of thousands of folks lining College Avenue to watch an hour long parade that easily involved over 1,000 folks. There were 15 marching bands! The whole thing was so enjoyable, even the weather. The best part was when the hot air ballon float came by spouting flames and warming everyone up (see the picture). Read more from the local paper. We were able to park a block away and getting home afterwards was a snap. What a great place to live and raise kids. We are very happy.
(11/24/2008): When we went to bed last night, we knew there were supposed to be flurries, but when we woke up we were a little surprised. We had over an inch of snow on the ground! We knew the weather was supposed to stay at or below freezing, so we thought "Hey, this might actually stay." There are differing opinions in the Payne household about snow. Matthew can take it or leave it. Maggie loves it. Nick loves it. Gillian loves it. Andrew loves it and drives hours upon hours to get to the mountains in California to have it. Okay, only Matthew has a different opinion. But it is nice to have changing seasons. We all hope that after last winter that it isn't quite as snowy, but sledding is fun, and the children in this family say snowboarding is even better!!!!
(10/11/2008): A lot has happened over the past few months, not the least of which was having Andy home on leave from the Marines. He was home because he though he'd be going off to Iraq, but after returning back to base, he found out he wasn't going. We're happy and at least he can go snowboarding this winter. Matthew keeps pluggin' away at work, that never seems to stop. Maggie passed her certified lacation consultant exam. Yeah! Gillian is back into Violin, Orchestra, Girls Choir and Gykmnastics! Nicholas started youth group at church and spends lot of time hanging out with friends. Overall, life goes on.
(8/14/2008): Kind of hard to believe, but the summer has been just flying by! It seems like yesterday was June. Matthew has been busy working while his boss has been gone. Maggie has spent her time doing stuff around the house, working on a farm and keeping up with her LaLeche League training. Andrew is back in California and is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in October. He'll be home for a while before that. Nicholas spent a week at his grandparents house in Quincy. Gillian went to Violin camp at Ithaca College in New York. The whole family will be going to Door County the last week of August for some well deserved and needed vacation time.
(3/23/2008): For many years Easter celebrations have been hectic, but this year they were almost the opposite at the Payne household. In our attempts to keep life simpler (ha, ha), we spent Easter together as immediate family. We did miss Andrew, though. He was probably bummed his missed some awesome ham. Great food, great games, and just hanging out at home marked our Easter weekend. we hope you were blessed with good weather.
Homeschool Potluck (3/14/200): Our home has become the place for our homeschool potlucks. this months included decorating in green (for St. Patty's Day), finding out who had Irish ancestry, a few jigs on the CD player, and an Irish blessing on the way out. This potluck also had something new...FURNITURE. Yep, our living room furniture ordered on January 1st, 2008 finally arrived.
(3/3/2008): These last two months have seen a lot of life in the Payne home. Nicholas and Gillian are playing indoor soccer at the YMCA. Maggie is working into some additional LaLeche league duties, along with visits to new moms and their babies. Matthew keeps pluggin' away at work, and also is chairing a group to Preserve Camp Webb. Andrew is in the field for the Marines in Califorina, so we do not hear much from him (funny how the military does that). We are excited about Gillian being in the Adventures of Alice in Wonderland in the Homeschool Players production in April. We are tired of snow, snow and more snow. Thankfully, we're no longer on the corner. The other drama in our life right now is a new transmission in the van. At least we know where our tax rebate is going!
(1/3/2008): Believe it or not, most everything is unpacked and in its place. Life is returning to normal after moving and the holidays. Nicholas and Gillian began school work today, Maggie is gearing up LaLeche league stuff and Matthew is keeping regular work hours. Matthew also made a website for the Mothers' Mercy Home Partnership Project at church. Andrew is leaving in a few days...we wish he didn't have to, its nice having him around. The kids have gone sledding a lot, and we've seen lots of movies. Sadly, we've been trading off being sick too. Yuch. But life is good. We've even picked out and ordered a new seating area for the dining room. Normal life is great.
(12/27)2007: Everyone here is thrilled to see Andrew at home. He seems to like the house, and doesn't mind the rec room downstairs. He's been in and out visiting people and having people visit him, and Tyler is staying here as long as he is. He'll be leaving next Thursday. No word on when he might go overseas.
(12/18/2007): It's been an interesting past few days, but our move to Appleton is complete. We closed last Friday and by that evening had all our stuff out of the olf house and into the new. Our tenants at our old place in Oshkosh moved in on Saturday. If you want to see some pictures, click here. Now we need to unpack, which will take a while figuring out where everything has to go. Wish us luck!
- By Gillian
(12/7/2007): Today started with being sick and then moved on to head hurting and then moved on to getting out of bed. Of course, like every other day. Something annoying happened. I came downstairs and Ginger started licking my butt. It wasn't a great feeling.
(12/7/2007): Everything is in process for our new home in Appleton. If you want to see some pictures, click here. Once we have the final closing date, we are ready to go!
(11/27/2007): We've had our offer accepted for our new home in Appleton. Home Inspection tomorrow and finalizing mortgage. Hope to close by the middle of December.
(11/16/207): We had a very full house for the homeschool potluck. It was a great time and very pleasant.
- Still
(11/13/2007): We continue to seek a new home in the Appleton, Wisconsin area. Minimum needs are 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, wood floors. much prefer a character home.
(11/08/2007): Rawlings had to be put down today. After 17 years he was in pain and not himself. We all miss him --- lots and lots.
(10/23/2007): Hard to believe that it has been 14 years of wedded bliss! Maggie and Matthew celebrated by going out to a great restaurant in Appleton called Casablanca.
(07/09/2007): Brownie died next to Matthew on the bed. Mr. Snuggle under the covers will be sorely missed.
(07/07/2007): Niagara Falls was great! And the travel was fun too. Gillian says the hotel we stayed at was 'beepin' awesome! However, she didn't like the pool. The Niagara River and Gorge was a hilight of the trip.
(07/03/2007): We start a full fledged vacation to Niagara Falls and Canada. Maggie and Gillian go to Violin Camp afterwards while Nicholas and Matthew hike it back to Wisconsin through Canada. We're bummed that Andrew can't join in, but he won't be able to get leave. |
