Category: Uncategorized

Birth of a Star Wars fan…or is it baptism?

Perhaps Tristan has watched Star Wars too many time. I honestly think it is only 3-4 times, far fewer viewings than Peter Pan or The Little Mermaid. But it appears to have made an impression. Last night, during a bubble bath, Tristan was playing with his wash frog (for...

Six Flags Great Escape

Day two of our Lake George adventure had us visiting Six Flags Great Escape. This time, it was William’s turn to have a blast. While Tristan, Cary and Mary Kate seemed to enjoy themselves, William was simply joyous. He road a boat, flew a plane, jumped on a motorcycle,...

Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine came to Lake George this year…and so did we! Together with Tristan’s friend Cary (and both families), we all treked to upstate New York for a ride on the famously Useful Engine. Tristan was concerned that the whistle would blow at any moment and remained...

Painting with Pop-pop

Tristan thought is would be a good idea if he helped his grandfather paint the garage door. Initially, Pop-pop thought this was a good idea as well… The door looks as good as new, so apparently, the teamwork paid off. Thanks Tristan and Pop-pop!...

Pond Redux

There have been a lot of projects around Stately Payne Manor recently. First, the winter freeze cycles destroyed our front steps and they were repaired by a quite impressive stone mason. Then the gutters needed to be replaced. This week, work continued on the back deck, replacing the rotted...

Mother’s Day

M is for the million things she gave you… We celebrated Mother Day this year with dinner at home. Steak, baked potatos and corn on the cob were the main course (actually, that sounds like a Father’s Day meal). William apparently enjoyed himself…Hopefully, the moms did as well....

Mini-Mowers

No, we have not embraced child labor, Tristan and William are trying out their bubble mowers on one of the first warm days of the summer (94 degrees!) The shirtless look started with William being too warm in the outfit Tom picked out this morning and then he got...

Family Tree

Tom’s latest obsession is the family tree. His sister, Deborah, started this a long while ago with the goal of seeing how far back the family went. Tom’s simply want to understand how his boys are related to Jennifer’s sprawling branch of relatives. Check out the tree at http://paynebancroft.myheritage.com....

Happy Easter!

Coloring Easter eggs is very serious business. OK, not really… Dad thought the eggs would look nice out in the front yard But the boys put out their colored Easter eggs in hopes that they Easter Bunny would come in the morning and hide them… The Easter Bunny made...

Passover with the Leibermans

Is is becoming something of a tradition for the Payne’s to celebrate Easter with a visit to the Lieberman’s for Passover Seder. This year, we were joined by cousin Mikey. It was Mikey’s first seder. Here he is reading a portion of the haggadah, the story of Passover, while...