Mario Party Extravaganza!

Dallin is 7!!! We planned a Mario Party birthday party this year and had so much fun! It was a beautiful day which was great because we had the whole party outside and through our neighborhood. Each year I regret that I didn't have enough pictures of his birthday because I'm running around like a crazy woman, but thanks to Brooke the Mangificant (*see picture below), I had tons and then some!!

These are some of the things we did:
- Roll the gigantic dice to decide which mini game we would play
-Yoshi's Egg Hunt
-Get the Goomba balloon pop
-Save Princess Peach treasure hunt
-Koopa Troopa Bank ball toss
-Mario Madness bubble gum chew/bubble race
-Chain Chomp piniata
-Super Mushroom Cupcakes
-Collect coins from each game where they could trade in for a Bonus Star necklace

After the festivities were over the kids were playing with the dice and ball toss.  One of the boys said, "Man, this is the best party I've ever been to...and I've been to a lot!"  That was the best compliment of all time!
We did have a fun time but the very best is to see the smile on Dallin's face. I love you buddy!

* Brooke the Magnificant

Credits:

Brooke - Someone that understand my insane need to plan a party and awesome photographer!
Darlene - for all the awesome help the day before the party and hooking us up with some awesome $10 bubble gum!
Riley (Luigi) - For making the games run so smoothly!
Haley (Princess Peach) - for being the cutest Princess Peach in a Cinderella costume ever!!
Joe, Jeff, and Brandon - for being patient as we go overboard!

The Plants of the Desert

We took a tour of a Chocolate factory here in Vegas in August. Let's just say...it was nothing compared to Charlie's! But the grounds around the factory were very interesting.  Here we are melting in the 120 degree weather learning about the indigenous plants of Southern Nevada.  I think October would have been a better time to do this.  Note to self...

 

Lauren and Andriana

The 2 Taylor babies. They love each other so very much and are facinated with each other.  They both have huge cheeks on both ends of their bodies too!  Can't wait to see these two cousins grow into the best of friends!

Dallin the First Grader!

Dallin is enjoying his new school where he loves his teachers Ms. Taylor and Ms. Wilson.  Yep, two teachers!  Ms. Taylor is his homeroom teacher and English teacher, and Sra. Wilson is his Spanish teacher. His spanish teacher said that for a kid that has been thrown into knowing a new language, he is doing great!  He gets a 'Smarty Pants' (a kudos card) at least once a week. He and another boy are the only ones in the class that didn't have a year of Spanish in Kindergarten.  So, though a little frustrated, he is doing well for starting from ground zero.

He loves to play basketball with his friends Trevan and Elijah and says that 'sometimes' he get's to shoot the ball but that he is really good at passing.  He He!  Elijah is about a head taller than him and Trevan is halfway there. He practices his dribbling every chance he gets to go outside.  We are enrolling him into a Basketball camp at the local Recreation Center and he is excited to sharpen his skills!

His favorite subject is Science and his least favorite is P.E.  We have a calendar of what he will be doing for the week and everytime it is P.E. day, he grumbles all the way to school.

I am so proud of Dallin and his positive outlook on life.  He doesn't let things get him down for long and he has a dedication like no other to accomplish things when he sets his mind to it.  (Like no other is a figure of speech because his father is exactly like that too.)  :-)  I know that he will be a awesome learner this year and many years to come!  I love you, Dallin!


Elijah is the kid that is taller than any of the other kids in the classroom.



Retro back...Valentines Box for this year

Two years ago we did a dog valentines box, go check it out in last years posts.
Well, this year we got even more creative and did a Captain Underpants Valentine Box (Dallin, and Joe, love these books). We had a fun time! Dallin helped me put the glue and paper around the balloon, and then he and Kiera painted it the flesh color. I made the under pants out of two pairs of Fruit of the Loom underwear as his waist was a lot bigger than his rump. We were all very proud of it!!! And he won first place for his grade!! Yeah, Dallin!!!

Lose a tooth - Find a tooth!

Last week Dallin lost his first tooth (front bottom right).  He was so brave and determined to get that thing out!  I told him the roots had to be broken and to now start pushing back on the tooth instead of just forward.  He pushed the tooth back about 5 times and he looked at me and said, "Mom, it kindof tastes, like I'm bleeding."  I started cheering (mainly to stop him from crying because who likes to bleed, right?)!  He ran to the mirror and it was just hanging there.  This spurred him onward.  We got some thread, tied it around the root and he pulled that darn thing right out!  You can tell by his expression how proud he was of himself!

Not more than an hour after this exciting episode, Dallin says, "Mom, I see something white in Lauren's mouth."  What?  Could it be.  I ran over and sure enough the front bottom right tooth was coming up in her shiny red gums.  Now, I know why she has been drooling and chewing on everything she can find.  I was blindsided as both Dallin and Kiera were at least 9 months old when they got their first tooth.  I shuddered at my next thought of feeding a baby with a tooth.  Eeek!  Let's hope for the best!

How Lauren Beats the Heat

We purchased a Bebepod chair for her and she LOVES it. She thinks she is such a big girl. She mostly hangs out in her diaper after coming home from running errands. We all strip down to what we can to battle the heat, only Lauren is the cutest in her strip-down attire so we feature her...

We moved!

It's official after two years of talking about it! We are feeling very much at home in our new house and the kids have already found friends. It feels like it should be harder for me to have uprooted myself and my family and moved states, but it's all good. I have good friends that have taken care of me here and good friends and family back home that check on my regularly. I feel very loved!! It's like this is where we are suppose to be. This is our new home. Let's make the best of it and plant some new roots even if the soil here is a little harder. :-D
Here is our house and some of my favorite places to go here. More to be added later.

Dallin's Baseball 2010

I think T-Ball has got to be the funniest sport out there. We laughed at times until our sides hurt. The best memory (we wish we had this on camera) was when the opposing team hit the ball and 8 boys ran to the ball and tackled each other to get it just because they wanted to be the one to throw it back. It made us all wonder what team they thought they were on.

Towards the end, they became quite proficient at their positions and skills thanks to their great Coach Brian Patterson. It wasn't nearly as funny except for the time Dallin was talking to the kid on first and the ball was thrown, he wasn't watching and it pegged him right on the crown. All-in-all it was a great first year of Baseball for all of us!

This was Dallin's first or second game. This was his idea on how to play second base. Did you see something wrong with how he "plays" second base? I'm afraid he takes after his mother. BTW, This was from Joe.  Hey, who gave him my password??

Dallin's a Graduate...of Kindergarten!

This scrap page design created with Smilebox

We are so proud of Dallin and his accomplishments. He worked verY hard this year and successfullY completed Kindergarten with flYing colors. His teacher Ms. Cheri Parkins was an inspiration to each of the children and she pushed them, encouraged them to be better, and loved them so verY much. We feel truelY blessed to have had her great influence in Dallin's Young life. If the quote, "All I reallY need to know, I learned in Kindergarten" is true, he sure learned a lot!!
TheY had a Kindergarten graduation program that was reallY cute. Dallin and his friend Kimo had a part in the program and theY were so in sYnc that You actuallY understood what theY said.
The kids in his class grew to be reallY close as a class and still to this daY, theY want to have parties and invite each other. So cute!

Excuse me for theY issue in this post.  I left my computer before I published it and Joe got on the computer and Y'ed it for me.  Do you think he's a cougar fan???

Building a Palace

I just read this quote on a friends blog and was impressed to include it on mine.  As I glance over at my new wing (Lauren) and actually (literally) getting a new house here soon, I feel very uncomfortable and unsettled.  It's nice to know that if I keep standing tall and strong, I will be more than I am now.  You've got to love progression even though it hurts a little at times.

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first perhaps, you can understnd what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Lauren Taylor!

We are so excited she is here!!!

Lauren Taylor

Born: March 5, 2010

Time: 4:58a.m.

Weight: 9 lbs. 1 oz.

Height: 19 1/2 inches long

She came out round and pink all over!  The first night home we wondered if we could handle her because she was up every 15 minutes until morning came and then slept all day.  The next night my milk came in and we realized that she was just starving.  She slept 6 hours that night and we instantly fell back in love with her!!  Since then there is very few nights that she doesn't wake only once.

She is loved by her brother and sister and they are constantly wanting to hold her.  Kiera anticipates her needs and gets whatever I need before I even ask her to help.  The other day I was talking to Lauren and saying, "I think you are getting hungry."  Kiera instantly jumped up and ran in the other room.  She came running in with the nursing pillow, my Newman's Ointment, and a burp rag.  I was amazed and how in tune she is!!  And feel so blessed to have such a great helper.

We hope that you enjoy some of the moments we have captured throughout the last couple of weeks.

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