Makin' Waffles

Kids in the kitchen, cooking away... nothing unusual around here.

Val - eggs

Tony - side dishes

Court - waffles

A little note to top it off?

Perfect.

 

 and, of course no meal would be complete at the Taylor house without a movie quote.

A Work of Art

I was cleaning bathrooms. 
I hope you stopped by that day because they stayed that way for about.... 
3.5 hours.

Mr T got a creative itch.

He kept running in & out of my room "don't look, don't look!"

This went on for over an hour.

I was so curious.

He proudly showed me his 

work of art.

Every Little Detail

nothing overlooked

and then he had to go

put his dogs up & watch 
a movie 
with snacks & soda

because after all...

being an artist is hard work.

Laughing in my Sleep

I think I've said it before...

I love sleeping babies. 

Mr T never fails to give me a 10:30 

(okay, in my dreams... more like 11:30) 

giggle as I check on him before I go to bed each night.

Sweet Dreams Nerdo

Swing Low

THIS 

is common sight at the 

Taylor house...

Mr. T running half-naked 
with his diaper about ready to "blow".

Not that I particularly enjoy it 
when his diaper fills 
to the point of explosion, 
but you try catching this boy 
AND
keep him still long enough to change a diaper.

Sounds like a 
"Would You Rather" 
question...

Hmmmm.

Good Mom/Bad Mom

The kids had a half-day of school...

We were looking for something fun, unique, cheap to entertain ourselves.

The kids decided that they wanted me to paint their faces.

And why not?

We had a whole bin of craft paints 
in my closet.

So after deciding on their designs 
and

trying very hard to sit still  
(for what seemed like forever), 

they happily lined up to admire 
themselves in the mirror...

Tony

aka: Mr. Sneaky Snake

Valerie

aka: Miss Flower Fairy

Courtney

aka: Miss Mis-Matched 

* life was good 
in the Taylor home

* my little Peeps 
were so very happy

* and proud 
of their artistic masterpieces
 

until

the itching began...

which led to  

*

*

*

*

V

an extremely long (2+ hours), painful removal.

rats.

fyi: a combination of vegetable oil & vanilla handsoap will remove craft paint from skin... not that we will EVER try this again.

Do You Feel Lucky?

I think this boy deserves a
{green clover}
or maybe an
{orange star}
for pouring his own bowl o' the Charms.
They're magically delicious
you know.

Party Over Here... Party Over There

You Know It's Gonna Be A Party When...
Your 2-year-old is in charge
of a 165 piece bucket of bubblegum.

There are 6 boys packed into a Rhino...
with a 14-year-old maniac driving.

There are boys with sticks...
oh, and FIRE.

You get to enjoy Scott Carroll's
(smokin' hot) ankles
all night.

You eat hot dogs
for dinner
with a little dirt for extra flavor.

Oh yeah,
Father's & Son's
ALWAYS a party.

SPI... da man!

Watch out Spidey, there's a new Super Hero in town...

Life With Tony

I'm in the kitchen doing dishes
Tony & Val are in the family room talking, playing, giggling.
Not really paying attention...
doing dishes.
Chitter Chatter.
I really love their chitter chatter.
Favorite Background Noise.
until I hear this...
"I. Cut. Your. Hair."
Wha....?
WHAT?!?!

Tony thought it might be a good idea
to give Valerie a
"little trim".
Well, cut off her entire ponytail.
Luckily I caught him before I had to write another post entitled,
"Goodbye Goldilocks"

The scissors are now confiscated.
My "confiscated" pile is growing alarmingly large.
I'm gonna need a storage unit.

Switcheroo

This fun fest all began with some
Pajama Drama,
which i would love to say,
"save for your mama",
but wait,
i AM the mama.
Hmpf.
Valerie wanting to wear
Courtney PJ's.
Courtney NOT wanting Valerie to wear her PJ's.
weeping.
wailing.
near fist-fight.
(well, not really)
So as any good? mom would do,
I offered to let Courtney wear my PJ's
(bottoms)
if she let Valerie wear her PJ's.
The ole' Switcheroo
worked like magic
and even led to some disco fever.

PJ Party

GiddyUp

Grandpa Taylor was so excited to introduce the kids to his newest horse, Mysti.
And vice versa.

Courtney started out on Mysti with McKay leading. Courtney has come a long way since she first started riding the horses. She can even ride solo now!

Then Valerie got a turn on Mysti with Grandpa leading and McKay assisting. She was really enamored with the "sparkly white" horse.

And of course we could not forget Tony, who kept saying, "my turn, my turn". He got to have a ride on Lacy (who happens to be Mysti's aunt).

Courtney going solo on Lacy.

I think this girl was born to wear a cowboy (girl) hat.

Finally, after all of the little ones had their turns riding, McKay & Grandpa took Lacy & Mysti for some real riding up in the mountains. Lacy really loves McKay & always give him a "horse hug" at the end of their ride.

The kids really look forward to their "cowboy time" with Grandpa.
Thanks Grandpa!
and thanks Larry, Grandpa's long-time friend, for helping us ride
Thanks Lacy & Mysti for being so kind & generous!!!
we'll be back...

Following in his Bootsteps

Everyone is so giddy(up) when Grandpa brings out the cowboy hats.

Anticipation... smiles.
Then off to the barn to meet the newest member of the Taylor family,
Mysti (as in short for Mystical).

Beautiful pure white joy.
Grandpa helps McKay ready the horses for riding.
McKay has such a gentle touch.

cute lil' cowpokes

howdy partner.

off to ride

Happy Trails
To You...

Snapshots of Heaven

For a mother, is there anything more heavenly than your 5 children being together and ENJOYING it?

Or snuggling in the sunshine
in your PJ's...

Or realizing your baby has fallen asleep
as you gently swing him
under the blue skies.

Oh yes, heaven on earth.

Spring Break-a-Thon

The Beginning...
Of some serious "bro-to-bro" time

Jon showing Tony the finer points of the iPod Touch

Tony showing great interest.
(ok really its' just a ploy to get his hands on Jon's iPod... I mean, Elmo is SOOOO yesterday)

Seriously.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about...

Bro-to-Bro

Cuckoo * Cuckoo

Sometimes
when the
days are
tough,

I just need to do
this...

or this...

or this...

Thanks, I needed that.
i miss you Mike.