Fun Run

This past Saturday we took the kids to a fun run where they each got shirts, metals, cookies, gift certificates. A nearby town puts on this Kids Fun Run and our kids had a blast. It was free to register because they have so many sponsors. They had a Pre-K division that Sydney did with Travis. At the finish line she got her own metal and she said, "Now I have one like you Mommy." Jake ran in the boys kindergarten division and Baylee ran in the 2nd grade girls division. Jake and Baylee did great, I think Baylee is a natural runner and came in 5th out of her division. There were about 10 other families we knew there so the kids had a great time running with their friends. After the races they had a blow up water slide for the kids and hot dogs and hamburgers. It was a great family day and my kids can't wait until next year!
Sydney getting ready to race with Travis.
Showing us the metal she won.
Jake stretching with the other kindergarten boys.
Just before the finish line, he was having a blast.
Jake and his buddy, Jackson. They will be in kindergarten together this year.

Baylee and the other 2nd grade girls stretching.
Addison, Baylee and Mary
Jake and Sydney getting their face painted, Syd was being shy.
Jake and his best buddy, Benj. They are so much alike, they love to play video games, wrestle, play sports and bug their sisters.
Our 3 stars. We were so proud of them, they all tried their best.
The Fam
Addison, Baylee and Mary rocking in the back of the car to the Camp Rock CD.
Sydney was rocking out in her car seat.

Softball

Travis has been on a summer softball league just like the good old days in Salt Lake. He plays about 30 minutes away and the games are usually late on Friday nights but this last Friday he had 2 games so the kids I went to cheer him on. The kids have never seen Travis play so they were really excited, and even more when they saw the concession stand. Travis had a good game and hit 3 doubles his first game and a homerun and a couple more doubles during his second game. When he was first at bat and he got to 2nd base, Jake turned to me and said, Dad just hit a double. I did not realize he knew that much about baseball, it must be Wii sports. Sydney would cheer so loud for Travis and kept yelling, "hit a double Daddy". The kids got to sit in the dugout with him for a little bit, they loved it. I would have taken more pictures but my camera died. It reminded me of many summer nights we spent in Salt Lake at the softball fields with our great OTP friends.

I love this picture of Sydney and Travis, it looks like she is picking her nose.

Our little photographer...

I was downloading pictures onto the computer when I came across these pictures Jake took. I knew he liked to look at pictures on my camera I did not know he was actually taking pictures. These pictures completely show you his personality. He is such a fun kid to have around and he always makes us laugh.

My friend, Kaylene, had this on her blog and it's looked like fun. So come on and play along, let's walk down. . . .
MEMORY LANE:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!

Our week summed up...

My friend, Jen, does "Moments of the Week" on her blog and I think it is a great way to sum up your week, whether it was a crazy one like I have had or a nice relaxing one like I am hoping to have this week. I know my wonderful mother-in-law (hi Elaine) checks the family blogs on Sunday night so I thought I would give her an update on our life this week as well as my mother since I have not had a whole lot of time to catch up with either one of them. I did not take any pictures this week, the time just slipped on by too fast.
Sickness:
Saturday night Baylee wanted me to help organize her closet. I wonder who she belongs to. While we were doing it, I started feeling sick. I started getting chills and really achy so Travis told me to go lay down and he would get the kids settled. I started getting a stomach ache and a fever was coming on fast. That night I was up every 30 minutes with throwing up and spending a lot of time in the bathroom (I do not need to explain further I hope). Travis woke up and knew I was not doing well, I am never sick so he gets worried when I am. The next day was church and I was supposed to do sharing time but I was in no condition to go. My temperature was 102.5 and all I could do was lay in bed. Travis took care of everything and took the kids to church with him by himself. He is such a trooper because he had enough going on in his life without his wife being stuck in bed sick for a couple of days. Anyway, after 3 days of no appetite and being the sickest I can remember, I was able to get on with life.
Camp:
Baylee had a 2 different camps this week. She first went to a cooking class in the morning which was offered by our school district. She took it with 2 of her good friends and loved learning new ways of cooking. She even brought home a cookbook with all of the fun recipes they made. I would pick her up from that camp and then I took her directly to Activity Days Camp at church. It was from 10-3 every day for girls turning 8 this year to the age of 11. They did everything from making crafts, swimming, playing glow in the dark foos ball, service projects, listening to devotionals, making skits. She had the best time and was so sad when it was over.
Jake and Sydney:
I kept Jake and Sydney busy this week with going to the park often, having playdates, running errands, bike rides,etc. Jake has started reading lessons with a sweet woman from our ward. He starts kindergarten in a month and a half and is so excited to go. He has been really wanting to learn to read for the last little while now so I asked this lady to come over and do lessons with him. She is a retired school teacher and goes around to kids houses and tutors them in anything they need. She plays fun reading games with Jake and he counts down every time until his next lesson. It is amazing how fast he has caught on to reading and wants to do it all of the time.
Work Outs:
Jake and Baylee have started working out with a small group of kids twice a week doing agility and speed drills. Our friend, Ben Tanuvasa, has a small group of kids including his own, that he puts through a great workout. He has hurdles, cones and a lot of fun and hard drills that he learned from playing many years of football. My kids think it is so much fun, Jake looks forward to the next workout as soon as he is done, even though he is sweaty and tired. Baylee asked if I could buy her deodarant since she gets so sweaty. All I can say is that they sleep great the night of the workout. I told Ben that he should teach a Boot Camp for women, I would love to join. Thanks Ben for inviting our kids to join in.
Travis and school:
Travis has been taking a 3 week intense course at school so he has been gone a lot. He is gone 3 nights a week and all day Saturday. He only has one more week of this class and he has to finish up a long business project and then he will have a 2 month break. In the fall he only has 2 classes left to get his MBA. It has been a long 2 1/2 years and he has worked so hard trying to balance family, work, school and church. Finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I want to tell him thank you for all he does for our family, even though he is gone a lot, I know he is not out having fun like golfing (I know that is what he would rather be doing). He sacrifices so much for our family and we love him so much for it.
Robin Hood Festival:
In our little city there is an event that everyone looks forward to. The Robin Hood Festival is a weekend celebration of the good ole' Robin Hood days. There is a big parade, a lot of great food, music, fun events for the kids and a lot of people dressing up. Since Travis was at school all day, I went with a friend and our kids to Old Town for the festivities. They got a ton of candy from the parade and had a fun time walking around. A couple of highlights from the parade were the ladies of Avamere, these women at the age of 70+ dressed up as Cinderella, Snow White, and other princesses. There also was a great marching band with people from the ages of 40-80 years with batton twirlers and all. It was a memorable day, hopefully Travis will be able to make it next year.
Date Night:
We had a great night away from our sweet children last night. We went with our friends, the Robbins, (Dustin Robbins is also from Othello where Travis grew up) and his wife, Heather, she was our realtor when we moved here. We met them at a great restaurant in Lake Oswego called Manzana. We ate on the back patio of the restaurant overlooking the lake. It was great food and even better conversation. We then all rushed over to the movie theater to see Hancock, it was a great flick. We ended the night the way I love with a little Cold Stone. It was so fun to spend time with Travis and the Robbins. It is so important in our relationship to make time for date night, Travis is my best friend and I love being with him. It is important to laugh together and focus on your relationship away from the kiddos. When we make time for eachother, we are happier and our home is a more loving place.

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Baylee got her ears pierced

Before...



After...

We always told Baylee that she had to wait to get her ears pierced when she was 8, she has wanted them pierced since she was 3. Well, she will be 8 in a couple of months and we realized she will be right in the middle of the soccer season and would have to wait until it is over since she can not take her earrings out for 6 weeks and she is not allowed to play soccer with earrings. My friend, Stephanie, has a daughter in the same situation so we decided to surprise the girls and take them today. Baylee was shocked, I have never seen her so surprised. Baylee and Addison were really nervous but it was fun for them to experience this together. Baylee keeps saying, " I can not believe I really have my ears pierced.".

College Buddies

Two of the "Taylor Boys", that is just what we called our group of guy friends because they lived in Taylor Hall at BYU, came to visit. Matt and Joe were good friends of mine in college. Joe lives here and Matt lives in California. Matt was here visiting for a big family reunion with his wife and 4 kids. Joe and I ran into each other in a random McDonald's in no where Oregon on our way back from Christmas in Utah about a year and a half ago not knowing that we live 30 minutes from each other. We have gotten together a couple of times with Joe and his family since then but it was fun to see Matt and see him as a husband and dad. We talked a lot about the good ol' days and caught everyone up on my roommates and the other Taylor Boys. We had good times back in the day.

Fourth of July

This is the first year we stuck around here for the 4th. We had a great day with our neighbors. We took the kids on the annual neighborhood parade where they decorate their bikes, eat doughnuts and stroll around the subdivision. We then had a fun BBQ with neighbors on the street, played a little pickle ball and let off fireworks. It was a fun relaxing day.

I love this kid...

I love Jake at this age, he is such a sweet, considerate, thoughtful, funny, loving boy. He just wants to make me happy. He loves his family so much, he is very protective of his sisters and he thinks his Dad is the coolest thing ever. He brings such a smile to my face. I love you Buddy!

Real cowboys are from Texas (according to Jake)

My parents have a friend with a couple of horses on a big Texas ranch. We brought the kids out there to see the horses. We were all surprised when Kathy told us the kids could brush the horses and they could even go for a ride through the pasture. Baylee has been on a horse a couple of times but this was a first for Jake, he was ecstatic. When we were walking through the field I asked Jake what he thought about it and he said it was really cool because "real cowboys are from Texas" and I guess he thought he was a cowboy. We walked down to this pond and Kathy told me there were snakes in the pond. I have a huge fear of snakes, I mean HUGE! We then were walking through the tall grass and she said that there could be snakes in the grass as well. I just had to block that out of my mind and put on a brave face for my kids. I also got bit by a fire ant (if you know what they are you know how painful the bite can be). Even though I was a little nervous, the most important thing was that the kids had a fabulous time. Now Baylee and Jake want to take horseback riding lessons.$$$

Guy's Night Out

My Dad and Jake had a "Guy's Night Out". My Dad took him to the Texas A&M baseball stadium to watch the Brazos Bombers (it is a team consisting of college baseball players from around Texas). This was Jake's first baseball game in a big stadium and he was excited but he did not know what to expect. Jake brought his baseball glove just in case a ball came their way. He told Grandpa that he had to have a hotdog because that is what his Dad says you have to do at a baseball game. My Dad also bought him Cracker Jacks and a drink, Jake was in heaven.

Blue Bell is my FAVORITE!

For those that are from Texas or have been to Texas and have ever tasted Blue Bell ice cream know exactly what I am talking about when I say it is the BEST in the world. The one thing I need to have when I visit my parents is Cookies and Cream Blue Bell ice cream. This time I went, I told my parents not to buy any because I have a problem, once I have a bite, I can not stop. I really could eat and entire container of ice cream in 2 days by myself. After we had been there a week, my dad took the kids and I down to Brenham, TX where the Blue Bell Factory is located. We went on a wonderful tour and saw how they made the ice cream and all of the other treats they are famous for. At the end of the tour they gave each person a choice of about 20 different kinds of ice cream. They had my favorite of course and that was the end of me being strong and resisting the urge. It was so good, I am telling you, this is my favorite thing to eat in the whole world. When we got back to my parents' house my dad went to the store with Baylee and Jake, they decided to bring me cookies and cream ice cream home, plus Baylee's favorite which is cookie dough. We had a little ice cream parlor in my parents' kitchen, they even wore the special Blue Bell hats we received. That 1/2 gallon was gone 2 days later. My last night there my Dad went to the store for something else and brought me home another 1/2 gallon for one last indulgence. Since I have been home, I have craved this ice cream. You can only get Blue Bell Ice Cream in most of the southern states and they do have vanilla at most Outback Steakhouses but it is not cookies and cream. If you have not tried it, I encourage everyone to do so. YUMMY!

Swimming Swimming in the Swimming Pool

Some of my favorite pictures...






The thing my kids look forward to the most when visiting Grandma and Grandpa is swimming in their pool. I would say they spent 75% of the trip in the pool. Baylee took her first swimming lessons with my mom when she was 20 months at the neighborhood pool. My dad taught Baylee how to swim when she was younger and this year he taught Jake how to swim. Jake can swim the length of the pool and learned how to dive to the bottom of the pool to collect rings. I actually enjoyed swimming myself, I showed Baylee and Jake a lot of the games I played when I was little and I even swam many laps to get ready for my triathlon coming up. I usually just like to relax and float on the raft. My kids are definetly little fish.