Bikes, Birthdays and Potato Guns...

We've had another full week here at the Taylor house. Tim is up to his same old stuff...

He has rigged himself a new potato gun. We used a few of them for a party we had this past weekend. Everyone gave them a try including the kids.

Here he is in all of his glory. As I'm posting this he is taking the gun apart and "improving" it. He has some new ideas so that he can mess around with all the boys during the "week of Taylors."



Little Miss got a new bike. She is old enough to pedal the thing all by herself. This summer is quickly becoming the summer of firsts for our little Beans.

You'd never guess that she put the helmet on all by herself. (It's backwards-- but hey, she tried.)
This little princess turned 11 this week. I'm totally freaking out and she isn't even my baby. She is going to middle school this fall--- yeah, I know-- MIDDLE SCHOOL! She is growing up too fast.
She fanned my pride a few weeks ago by asking me to make her a ho-ho cake for her birthday. I couldn't say no because she is so cute. So I spent the better part of the morning making this tasty creation. When I think of Maddie sometimes I still picture this chubby little thing that loved her Aunt Leca purely because I would feed her everything that Jodi wouldn't let her have. I remember spending countless hours rocking her and singing to her when she was no more than a few months old. She cried like she was on fire but for some strange reason it made me want to snuggle her all the more. In fact, I think Breckyn should credit Maddie for existing at all. Maddie made me crave a baby like nothing else I've ever experienced. She was our firsts for every step of life. We watched her struggle to crawl and waddle with her first steps. She tolerated our ceaseless wardrobe changes to make her look just right. We torched her with sunglasses, bikinis and itchy Halloween costumes. She was our number one kid and she still is. Thanks for letting us practice on you Mads. I'm holding my breath waiting for her to take on Middle School. I'm trying to restrain my urge to go to school with her and sit through each class to shield her from the inevitable rights of passage she will experience in the days to come. I just love this kid and to me she will always be our first baby. Happy Birthday M.J. I sure do love you kid!

Summer + Water = Fun

Today was a scorcher! It was so hot and humid we had to break out the swimsuits!

Here's the Beans all ready to play...
...well, almost. She had to take a quick potty break and never located the rest of her suit.

The squirrely boys havin' fun in the "boy" pool.

Miss Chlo is so proud of herself. She can officially swim all by herself with a life jacket. She can finally keep up with the big kids. Yay Chloe!

The older kids have continued their obsession with goggles. By the end of the day they each have a goggle hickey across their faces.

For the grand finale, we tossed in a new attraction at the Taylor Park. Come and play with us!

Barlow Fun

This weekend we had a chance to have the Barlow kids over for a few days while Jo and Chris went to youth conference. They got stuck in the rain on a 2 day hike while we played with the kids.

I let the kids play with play-doh when it rained and they loved it.

They all wanted to pose with their creations.

I think they were going for a Jabba-da-hut motif.

When we were taking out the cans I realized that my dough was all dried out so I decided to make my own. It was super easy and really fast. It's basically flour, salt, oil, coloring and water. The kids were pretty impressed and kept egging me on to make all sorts of colors for them.

We also did quite a lot of swimming and playing outside between rain storms. This little Bean got the hang of swimming solo with a life jacket. I have a feeling she'll be glued to the pool this summer. Thanks for a whole lot of fun Barlow kids. We'll do it again soon!

Just a little somethin'

I'm trying my very best to take good pictures of the kids. I think next year I might take a class or two to get the best use out of my sweet camera. The kids get bored with me after a while and start giving me guff. Let's just say it's a work in progress.

This one shows just how much they like me corralling them together for a pose.
The boys just crack me up! Do they look like two energetic little boys or what?

I got them all stacked up. This caused some serious giggles and an eventual monkey pile on the ground.

This is my favorite part of the day. If you can see, he is starting to sprout his summer freckles. (I just love it!)

He was drooling tired (literally) after a long day of play. There is nothing like a sleeping kid.

Em had fun playing nerf tag with the Barlows today. I love when they get all dressed up. It's too cute.Tonight when I was taking out the garbage I notice this little guy sitting in our front yard. He wasn't looking to healthy so I grabbed a bucket and scooped him up. B thought he looked hungry (hence the cheese).
Yes, it's a mouse. I took him over to the edge of the forest and let him go. I didn't know what else to do with him and I didn't want to make a big production out of it. (Trust me, when Breckyn gets an animal to "save" it gets big fast!) It's always something around here.

Butterfly Mania!

Yesterday Breckyn's butterflies finally hatched.

As you can see, she was very excited that all four made it.
They were still a little slow so it made it easier for B to pick them up and hold them.

No animals were hurt in the process of making these pictures.

My man, the butterfly whisperer.

The Piano Recital

The last weekend in May was the piano recital for all the kids. I didn't get a chance to post it because I left the next morning for Utah.
Z right before the big show. Her piece was called, "Brave Warrior." She kept telling me that Mrs. Morrissey said she was "overly" ready for the recital and didn't need to practice. Uh, good one Z.

All three super stars! Nice work you guys!
This is how much Max enjoyed the program. I'm pretty sure he didn't make it past Z's piece.

I got a chance to do the flowers for the big event. I picked just two of the many arrangements I did. There were about 12 in all. I had so much fun.

I used a lot of fruit just to be creative.

This is Z's big number.

Caleb followed quickly after.

Then it was Maddie's turn.

Maddie's duet partner ditched her at the last minute so Jodi filled in. It's so nice to have a talented mother who could step in and save the day. I think Jo was a little self conscious to be in the kids show 'cause she hustled it off stage the minute it was over.

Job well done guys!

Swimming Season

Tim and I set up the pools a few weekends ago and the kids have been dying to get in ever since. It's not exactly warm here yet. We have our days of hot and cold but nothing steady to make the pools a decent temperature. So on the last day of school, I finally caved.

B pulled out some goggles to do some serious swimming.

Rugs and his new "dives" (A.K.A belly flops).

He was shaking like a leaf but loving every minute of it.

Here's a look at the gang in action!

Tim and I bought this little gem when we were out on a hot date. I figured the kids would love "boating" on the pond this summer. It isn't exactly as "two person friendly" as the package said but whatever. Our first voyage was memorable and a bit wet. I jumped into it and hurled myself out of it. So, clearly, I need to work on my precision and technique.

Cooper!

What's a party without a little baby mess?

Breckyn cooked this little man a marshmallow.

She is young in the ways of baby messes. So I took it up a notch. It was his birthday the day before we got to Utah so we still needed to celebrate it with him.I think he liked it.

Can you believe this guy?
That's one happy little man. Happy Birthday Coop!

Our trip to Utah...

This past week Breckyn and I got a chance to take a trip to Utah. We went to see this little man.

This is baby Baden. He is Cheri's newest little nugget. He is adorable and so snugly.

B had fun with all the little men in Utah.
Big B and little B.

Brecky met this puppy and really really wanted to take him home.

This is the one that I wanted to take home. He was just so cute! (No, we didn't get another puppy... it's Tim's fault.)

We went to a petting zoo at Gardener Village. It was basically Brecky's dream come true. All the animals were roaming around just waiting to be pet.

Cam was loving to squirrel around with Brecky. He kept asking her to wrestle with him.

Here's all the boys and Cass. They are so little and squirrley. They loved having a big kid there to help them with stuff.

Isn't he just so precious!!

This is the little momma with her new one. She was amazing. I think she was pretty well prepared for this baby to come. He is fitting in quite well already.
Brecky enjoyed an "all you can snuggle" buffet. Since there wasn't anyone around to steal him from her, she got plenty of alone time with Baden. He was so alert. He is a handsome little dude.

We got a chance to hike up the mountains a little bit and see some amazing scenery.

Thanks for a great trip. We loved it!