Happy Birthday Tristan

Last Monday was Tristan's 11th Birthday. I really can't believe that he is that old! Tristan, I hope you had a great birthday. You really are a great kid, and a wonderful grandson. We love you! I thought I would show some of the pictures I took out at Kim's while we were celebrating.

I know this looks posed, and yea, it probably is. I think it must be Chris that is about to bop him on the head, I am pretty sure it wasn't the first time that it had happened.

He got some great presents. We got him a 4 man tent, and his aunt and uncles got him a nice sleeping bag and a camping lantern. Now he is ready for those warm summer nights. Or maybe a few chilly ones too.

I'm not sure Ethan ever knew I took this one. Not sure it would have mattered to him if he did know I was taking it. He was having fun trying to get it out with just his tongue.

He is pretty good on the tramp. Most of this is just me trying to get action pictures. Some were pretty good, others (that I will never post) were not so good.

I have to admit this one surprised me. Didn't know he could do a flip, but he did, although the landing was not real great!
Badmitten was the game of the day. I think someone (the people changed) was playing from the time we got there, til it was too dark to see the birdy.
In case you can't see it here, Bob is now playing with a racket in each hand. And using both of them to hit the birdy. In fact at one time he had two rackets in each hand. That didn't work out quite so well. The four of these guys are quite competetive. I think they all get it from their Dad.
It was a great time! I loved the weather, it was just right, not too hot, not too cold. And I love hanging out with our family. I can't wait for the rest of the summer and those great get-to-gethers.

The flower wall is finally up.

This has been a long time in the process. These are flower pictures that Carrie and I have taken over the past years. Some are from our own yard, some are from Hawaii, and some are even taken in Monticello. (From when we were down there when Mom was in the hospital). When I was trying to decide what to put up on this wall after we remodled I saw a wall with pictures like this at the Parade of Homes. I loved the idea, besides we could use the pictures that we had already taken. Carrie then started taking the individual pictures and taking out the color in the background to make the flower itself stand out. She had a lot of them done and then the computer goofed up and we had to dump most of what was on the computer. To say the least we were a little upset. Then in a tech. training they showed us how to use Picassa (Cindy I should have listened to you sooner) and I discovered that when I installed it on this computer it brought back all of the lost pictures. Ta-Da. So I finally had them all printed off and in the frames. It then took us about 2 months to decide just how we wanted to hang them. But with everyone gone last night Bob and I finally decided to just do it! I love it. It turned out smaller than I thought it would, but that is OK because it leaves us room to put up some more if we find more flowers that we can't live without.This is the next project. This is the family picture wall and I haven't decided if I want to try and buy all new frames for the family pictures or put them all back up in the mismatched frames. Hopefully it won't take as long as the flower wall.

Carrie's new ottoman

Carrie made this ottoman. Good job, HUH!

Happy Birthday Marcy

It's Marcy's Birthday today! Happy Birthday Marcy, Wish you were here or we were there.
LOVE YA!

Birthday X two

Hey my Babies are 19 today! I'm sure they will hate having me call them my babies. But I guess being the youngest, that is what they will always be.
Happy Birthday Carrie and Randy. LOVE YA!

I HATE WINTER!

I know that is somewhat dramatic, but I need some sunshine. These last two weeks have just plain been depressing. There was one brief moment on Friday as I was leaving the school that there was actually some blue sky and sunshine. I was so excited and actually felt physically better. Then 2 hours later you couldn't see 100 feet in front of you. Talk about a downer. Randy loves fog and was so excited, until he had to drive to Bobby's in it. I thought it was just claustrophobic. And now it can't decide whether to rain or snow. I'm sure by morning it will probably be snow, and I think that even that would be better than this drizzle. So I am going to find and post some summer time pictures and see if that makes me feel better.

Tristan and Ethan up the canyon on my 50 birthday. The kids (and Bob) threw me this great surprise party. I really was surprised! It was a great day and well worth remembering again. It definately brightens up my day.

Can you believe all these balloons! I do believe there were 50 in all. It was great!

Another day up the canyon. The kids let Bob and I come along on one of their climbing days. I decided that I am probably better off if I don't watch.

This one is taken from the top of the cliff. We decided it was more fun to take pictures from the top instead of from the bottom. (Make your own joke here.)

Hope everyones Christmas was GREAT!

We had a very different Christmas this year. Bob had to work Christmas day. That meant he had to be at the hospital by 7 am. So we traded our presents with Kim and Don and the Kids and Bobby and Clybe on Christmas Eve. It was strange to open more than just pjs on Christmas Eve. Then Carrie, Randy, Chris, Bob and I opened the santa gifts and our exchanges before he went to work. It was quite early and I am afraid that the pictures show it. It was still nice and I even had time to fix him the traditional Eggs Benedict before he went to work. He told them at the hospital that he had had Eggs Benedict before he came to work and they did not believe him. We also fixed Ableskivers and took him some for lunch. It sure made Christmas strange going over to Kims without him. I hope he knows how much he was missed. Anyway here are a few of the pics.
Aha, the quiet before the storm.
Randy, trying to decide where to start handing out

We figured it out!

Does it look early to you? I'm not real sure how much sleep Chris has had.

I really think it must be time to go back to bed. Which we all did after poor Bob went to work.

Just 3 left at home to open gifts. Things they are a changin.

Later at Kims. Tristan and Ethan both got RC cars. I am sure Don will be repairing for a long time.

Yea, I know, this is just scary, but too funny to pass up.

AAAAhhhhhh, Christmas Eve left overs. The only way to cook on Chirstmas.
Merry Christmas Everyone! Marcy we want to see some Texas Christmas pictures!

Merry Christmas

Wow, it really has been a long time since I have posted. Sorry bout that! I have a bunch of really great pictures from Thanksgiving, but that is sooo in the past now. So I thought I would show you all some of the pictures from our trip to Philadelphia to see Marcy and Chris. They are in the process of relocating the Cafe to another retail space about 2 blocks from where they are now. Bob and I thought we would go see if we could help some. Bob did a lot of sheet rocking, mudding and sanding. I tried, well let's just say that is not in my comfort range. Instead I worked on some projects that Marcy just hasn't had time to do. I made some drapes for her guest room, a table runner for her dining room table, and a tree skirt for her christmas tree. We also got to help decorate her tree. It was fun, and so nice to spend some time with them.

These first 3 pictures are from a place called Longwood Gardens. It is an Estate that is owned by Du Pont. They decorate it all up for Christmas with lots and lots of lights. The Conservatory was wonderful! All of the Christmas flowers, and decorations were neat. I took lots of flower pictures (surprise, surprise) and not a whole lot of people. Got to stop doing that!

Anyway here is one of Marcy. They had so many different kinds of poinsettas. This picture doesn't give these any justice. They were huge!

This pool would normally be a water lily pond, but for Christmas they made it into a Cranberry Bog. The tree at the end is covered with yellow poinsettas.

Instead of having live entertainment on the last night we were there they had Karaoke night. It was a blast to watch. And the best (of course) were Marcy and Chris!

I wish I could remember what song they were singing. I sure that would explain this picture. But I love it anyway.

All About Baby TAG

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?
Probably in at the Drs office in Murray.
2- Who was with you?
Bob
3- How did you find out that you were pregnant?
The old fashioned way, with a blood test at the Drs office.
4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant?
We were really excited. I thought I was pregnant before and lost it at the very beginning. Had all sorts of fun times and finally had a D&C. Not much fun. When I really was pregnant the next time it was great.
5- Who was the first person you told?
I would say Bob but he was with me when I found out. So the next people to find out were probably the grandparents.
6-Did you plan to get pregnant?
Yes
7- Did you tell everyone else right away?
Probably not. I think we waited for a month or so.
8-Was everybody happy for you?
Yes
9- Did you go out and celebrate?
I'm sure we did something, but that was too long ago to remember what it was.
10- Did you want to find out the sex?
My Dr. used to try to predict the sex by the heart rate. Not really 100% accurate, but he did think Marcy would be a girl.
11- What was the sex?
Girl
12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower?
Yes I had a couple of them.
13- If yes, who?
I had a family shower, with Mom, Cindy and family. I was Young Women's president at the time and the mutual girls gave me a shower in the ward.
14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?
No
15- How much weight did you gain?
I'm not sure, but it wasn't a whole lot. I loved being pregnant, didn't feel sick, but didn't like junk food. So I always went home from the hospital weighing less than before I got pregnant. Didn't last long though.
16- Did you lose all of the weight that you gained?
Lost it at the time, just gained it back easier than before.
17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks?
Not really that time. Couldn't help it with the twins.
18- What did you crave the most?
Fruits
19- Did you crave anything crazy?
Ice, I loved chewing ice.
20- Who or what got on your nerves the most?
Pushy people in check out lines.
21- Were you married at the time?
Yes
22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
No
23- Where were you when you went into labor?
Home
24- Did your water break?
Yes, hurt a lot.
25- Who drove you to the hospital?
Bob.
26- Did you go early or late?
Late, but not by too much.
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth?
Just Bob and the Dr.
28- How long were you in labor for?
Not very long. My labor was always too short to have any drugs.
29- Did you have any drugs for the pain?
Not enough time before the birth.
30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section?
Yea, natural.
31- What was your first reaction after giving birth?
Relief that it was over, didn't realize it had really just begun.
32- How big was the baby(s
7.5 lbs
33 - Did your Husband cry?
Not at the time.
34- What did you name the baby(s)?
Marcy Lou Taylor
35- Does his name have any significant meaning?
I wanted a name that was different from the common ones. I think I found the name Marcy on the Peanuts cartoons. Lou is Bob's moms middle name.
36- Did you have any visitors?
Oh yea, everyone came and Mom came up and stayed with us for a week.
37- Did the baby(s) have any complications?
Not really a complication, but she did have a cone head. They had to use the "salad tongs" (as Bob would say) to get her out and her head was stretched. It only lasted for about an hour though, and then she was beautiful. Still is!
38- How old is your baby today?
31 years old!.
39- When is the next one(s) coming?
That one's not even a consideration. There is a reason you get pregnant when you are young.
40-If you could, would you do it all over again?
No! Not that it was bad I just slightly remember half way through labor say "I have changed my mind, I don't want to do this anymore." I am thankful I went through it 5 times, although the 5th was the worst. But then we got double the blessings with that one. The result is always worth the pain. Or we would all only have one child.
41- Tag: KIM, AMY and BECKY!!

Totally random posts

So Bob was doing the anual cleaning and warming up of the Chevy the other day so I got a picture of them. I not sure we have one of them together. Someday we might even drive it again, you never know.
Hey, Chris has a new job. I think the smile here might give away how excited he is. Oh well, a job is a job. I think the biggest problem he has is that his shift starts at 7:00 AM! Not so great for someone who hates to go to bed before 3. I think a change is in the air.

These pictures are of a Teacher Red Ribbon race we had at the school last week. I took pictures and they were so much fun I thought I should let everyone see them.

The idea for Red Ribbon week was to"persevere to the finish". The classes all helped the teachers make the cars and then the teachers race walked. Some of these teachers are very competative. It was a blast to watch and the kids loved watching and cheering for their teachers.

This is our 1st grade teachers. This is the 3rd grade. These teachers decided they would take turns being first so that the kids could cheer of all of them. They even crossed the finish line together so that they would all win. The other teachers were not that nice about it.

This is the 5th grade. What you can't see here is the third teacher behind the two men. She was a sub for the day for a 5/6 split so the poor thing had to race twice. Funny thing was she won both races.

This is the 6th grade. The girl in front is the poor sub. She subs for us a lot and has kids that go to Vista, so everyone knows her. The girl in the middle really is a teacher. It is her first year teaching and she is smaller that a lot of the 6th graders. She is fun to watch.

And the winner is............. It really was a fun activity for the kids and the staff!