Em and Chloe

Em and Chlo got to play together this morning. The two of them are very silly together when they get going.

She is such a ham! When I tell her to say "cheese," this is what I get.

I let the two of them jam out and get squirrely and this is how they do it.

Here is a quick glimps at life in the Taylor house this week.

This is for Cassie. The lilac tree that you gave me is in bloom. It's beautiful. I think of you, your crazy wedding and our shared love for this flower every time I see it. It's the gift that just keeps on giving every year. Thanks Cass.
This is Rusty or as Jodi likes to call him, our little kitty. He likes to perch himself on our couch to see all the comings and goings of the house. He likes it so much, he has even started to take naps up there.

Oh, and what would a birthday be without a cake from Lakeland Bakery? Chloe helped me pick out this beauty. The guy at the bakery asked my what I wanted written on the cake. I said, "Just happy birthday...." He said, "no name?" I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was buying it for myself. I didn't want to appear desperate and pathetic. I think that there are very few people in this world that are as passionate about cake as I am. So of course I had to make sure I had just the right one to celebrate with and it was soooooo good.

Here are my two cheese balls. They give the goofiest grins when I get out the camera. It makes me giggle.

I like them in fancy boy clothes. The suspenders are one of my favorites even though they like to use them to hike their pants up to China. But, at least they are wearing them, right?

For Mom and Dad...

This is for you Mom and Dad. It's a little bouncy but I thought you'd enjoy a peek at home. We miss you both!

Happy Birthday Decker Dee

Today is the day that the world met fun!

The person who keeps everybody around her smiling.
Or Something like a smile....

We all love you very much!!!!!!

Muddin'

Tim decided to let the kids take the ATV's out in the mud on Friday. They thought it was awesome.

Rugs was loving the freedom to get dirty.
Em took his turn on everything.

Look at that face!

She is pretty proud of her mess.

Look at all that mud!
It was quite the job to clean up but so worth it to them.

Before we started Chloe was trying on the helmets.

I thought it was funny how big it looked on her little noggin'.

The Zoo

Today I took a field trip with the second grade to the zoo.

Here was our group. Z and some of her classmates.

This one is for B who specifically wanted a picture of a prairie dog. (She did her animal report on these little guys.)

Here's my girl. I loved spending the day with Z. The zoo, not so much. I just hate seeing the animals all lethargic and cooped up. I'm no animal nut, but it still bothers me. (that, and the smell--- ewww)

Happy Birthday Breckyn!

We had a little family party with cake and presents on Sunday. Maddie made the cake and decorated it just for B. Thanks Mads.

Here she is so happy to be the center of attention.

She got a super cool wallet to keep all of her sweet moola in.

I also found a butterfly tent. You get real cocoons in the mail and some food to feed the butterflies and you can watch them grow. It was the perfect gift for her.

I also couldn't resist this "earth" t-shirt that has all of her favorite "save the planet" slogans on it. Go green!

Z was still by far the best birthday present she ever got. Happy Birthday Brecky!

All things Emerson

Yesterday Em's preschool put on a Mother's Day tea party. They invited each of the Mom's to come and have a little party prepared by our kids. They had lots of finger foods (fingered in more ways than one) and drinks.

Each of us were required to wear a party hat that we were to construct with our kids out of paper.

All the kids liked stealing the hats and wearing them. It was a lot of fun and a cute idea. The kids sat down and ate with us. I'm sure they enjoyed the "fruits" of their labors as much as we did.

Then we were off to the doctor's office to get his cast taken off. They used a special saw that Em thought was "totally awesome!"

When they took it off I'm pretty sure there was a cookie stuffed down there. I scrubbed him down to remove all of the junk build up. He has tan lines where his cast was. It's pretty cute. At first I thought it was a dirt line but after much scrubbing, it was a confirmed tan.

Em really is coming into his own. He cracks me up all the time. I'm going to be really sad when he goes to school in the fall. We have so much fun together during the day. He's a real hoot. At church on Sunday a kid behind us started screaming. His mother stood up and took him out right away. Emerson looks at Tim and in all seriousness says, "Uh-oh, I got that kid with my laser eyes."

Our new family rule... no laser eyes during church. (Just in case his super powers cause too much of a scene.)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! I just wanted to tell you all how awesome my mom is. She is amazing and she has taught me so many things about being a mom.

Here's an old school picture of us (pre-Cassie even.) My mom sewed all of these outfits. Just a small beginning to a long long career of sewing everything from underwear to prom dresses. She always made sure the we were dressed perfectly. She spent countless hours at her machine keeping us girls happy. Thanks Mom!

She was there when I had all of my babies. In fact, she was the first to feed Rugby and the first to dish out M&M's to the rest of them.
She always puts family first. She has four dedicated daughters and a mob of grandchildren's devotion to prove it.

She looks good in bunny suits. Not all mom's can pull this look off-- she can.

She is a ball of fun. We all love spending time with her.

She is a great mom and I just love her so much. She is hopelessly devoted to my Dad and showed us how a real marriage should be. She is still smoochy and lovey to him. It doesn't get any better than that. I know now that she dedicated her life and time to making our family a success. Thank you for all the countless hours of work and stress that you endured for me. You are the best mom! Happy Mother's day!

Spring Flowers!

This week Tim was gone traveling and I got to thinking about a project I've been wanting to do for a while. So before I could be stopped, I got straight to Lowe's and got started.

Here is our front yard before....

...and after. I added a little planter around the front light so I'd have one more place for my flowers this year.

I can't tell you how very much I enjoy surrounding myself with flowers.

I got a chance to go to Pesche's (my special flower place) all by myself and just wander up and down the isles picking a little of this and a little of that.

I love mixing and matching flowers so I can enjoy lot of different kinds.

These are my favorite this year. They are called Dahlia's. They come in lots of different colors and they keep blooming all summer long.

Happy Spring!

Breckyn's Birthday Extravaganza!

It has become a tradition that on the girlies birthdays we have some girlie time together. We usually take Lake Geneva by storm doing lots of things that the birthday girl wants to do. It always ends up being so fun.

This time was no different. Breckyn picked a Mexican place for dinner. (That girl has a strong love for bean burritos.) Followed by some ice cream and a stroll through Lake Geneva.

These crazy girls love to party together.

Get a little sugar in them and they are good to go.

We also stopped by our favorite nail salon and had them give the girlies the birthday special.

When we walked in the nail lady claimed Zoey as being hers because she was "so cute!" She gave Z the royal treatment and did glitzy glam on every nail. Z was in heaven.

Happy Birthday Breckyn! I can't believe my baby is going to be 9!!!! We love you kiddo!

Just hangin' out...

Em and Chloe were playing together today. They figured out a way to give each other zip-line rides without any big kids around to help them out.

First it was Emerson's turn. (Yes, Chloe can pull him-- she has Jodi's freak strength.)

Then Chloe was hangin' out (in more ways than one), waiting for her turn. Em zipped her right up to the top.
Her undies were crackin' me up. When she bent over you could see her little baby butt cheeks. She doesn't quite fill out her pants like she used to with her diaper on. I think I might buy her a little mini belt.
I'm so excited that my flowers are starting to bloom. I'll have lots more in the next few posts. I just love the spring time flowers. It's by far my favorite time of year.