I thought I would fill in anyone I haven’t talked to lately. I’ll start with the end of August… we went on the ward campout. It was Luke’s first campout and he loved being outside. He went to bed just fine, but woke up repeatedly between 2-6 am. To make matters worse, Darin did something to his back the day before and and it only got worse from sleeping on the air mattress in the tent. We didn’t stick around very long after breakfast, so Darin could get home to drugs and a real mattress.
Here’s our sweet setup, and Luke playing on the table… He loved being outdoors!
Check out Darin’s beard. When he shaved it off, he looked so young!
We had the whole gang together for labor day… good food, games, car races in the backyard…
…and lots of laughs…
Grandpa and Grandma Payne came to visit Tennessee, and we tried to find some new things for them to do. Luke loved all the extra attention… he definitely gets a lot of attention, and loves it. Here we are at the Grand Ole Opry… we got to hear and see some great performances, including Dierks Bentley!!! (I loved that, but the old couple seeing next to us didn’t and they left right in the middle of one of his songs!)
Another first for Luke included going to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere! He was interested in all the things to look at and the people there (it was 5-dollar day, so very busy).
He got scared by several things inside the creature house, and didn’t quite know what to think of the petting zoo. I think he petted a goat just to make his dad happy. After an hour in the sun, he was wiped out.
Other exciting firsts for Luke include getting his hair trimmed, and styled…
…and his first tooth broke through! (No pictures yet, he doesn’t like to show it off.)
A little update on the parents of this beautiful boy:
Darin is doing quite well in his classes, loves palpating everyone, and was elected president of his class.
and me, well, not much is happening with me.
Hopefully it won’t take me another month to blog, but it might. I never think to blog myself, just to read everyone else’s!
alittlebitofthepaynefultruth 
Yes THANK YOU for blogging! I love the updates. Luke is the cutest ever, I just want to hug and squeeeeze him! His hair is awesome. I can’t believe he just got his first tooth! Is he still nursing or not?
Oh Joy I miss you! Yes, this post is for you…I don’t even know if others read it anymore! Luke is still nursing (and thus I’m glad his teeth haven’t been in a hurry to emerge), but I need to start researching the weaning process!
I am so glad to finally see some new pics of everyone! I can’t wait to see all of you in just a few days!
Yay!! Finally, I was beginning to wonder if your fingers were broken!
Yeah, another update!! We miss you guys tons and looks like you guys are doing well. WE gotta figure out another time to all get together, eh? I can’t believe he just finally got his first tooth. Jaxon just broke his FIFTH one! Nursing has been owwwwwie!
Yes, Nada LOVE the pictures. Luke is darling! It was fun to see your family as well. Hardly didn’t recognize Cristina and Marissa they are all grown up. Had to laugh at Darin’s beard…he looks like a good ole southern boy with it:)