Friday Flashback

August 2001

Our little family of 4 went to 

Michigan to visit family.
We visited Dow Gardens.

goofed around with the fam...

(believe it or not, this is a regular occurrence with my family)

and played at the park

but my favorite part of the trip was the day we spent at 
Lake Michigan...

we were visiting 
the Burtch family in Holland

we spent the day sightseeing

took pizza to the beach

played in giant holes in the sand

walked out to the lighthouse

it was a beautiful day...

the water was so tempting

but only a couple of us had 

swimsuits on

So... in a moment of pure genius 

my mom jumped in the water, 

fully clothed

before long my dad joined her...

and Mike...

and eventually the entire family ended up in the lake, 
laughing & splashing...

 We were still smiling as the sun set on this perfect day.

Oo-da-lolly, Oo-da-lolly, 
Golly what a day!

Summer Lovin'

Love Is All You Need
Price cousins

Sisters

Little Bro
Papa Bear

And even a little bit of
Puppy Love

Friday Flashback

August 2005
The Taylor Family Final Summer Blow-Out!
We went to Flagstaff for a little bit of...
Scenery

Light Reading
Napping While Snuggled In Your Baby Sister's Blankie
Wheat Thins

PJ's all day
YEAH

Jumping On The Beds

Card Playing
AND
Teething On End Tables

Unfortunately our magical getaway didn't magically eliminate baby diarrhea blow-outs.

Doesn't One Summer Blow-Out Deserve Another?

Faux Pas or Fashion Statement?

Missing Luggage = No Dress Socks
Well... this is the reason Scott gave us for his bold fashion statement.
If you ask me, I think he was looking for an excuse to show off those wicked ankles.

Can you blame him?

The Tale of the Hair

Party, sleep, sleep, Party
so * happy * together

Mr. Sneaky Pants... the beginning

Christmas 2008
Mike & I had decided it was a
"no gifts" Christmas.
So I bought him a Swiss Army knife & a bowling shirt.
After all of the gifts had been opened
Mike handed me maracas, beads, sombrero...
AND a pinata.

Was I surprised?
Uh, yeah, you could say that.

Holy Frijoles!
I love you Mr. Sneaky Pants.

next year I'll get you a knife, bowling shirt AND new tie.

A Fond Farewell

As we bid adieu to yet another fabulous Spring Break-A-Thon, I leave you with some photo oops, I mean ops.

The Taylor Family
&
The Donkersgoed Family
(my sister's fam)
enjoying the traditional meal
at Los Hermanos.
from left to right:
Chandler, Valerie, Jon, Campbell, McKay, Cason, Chase, Courtney, Dwayne, Lori, Beckie, Tony
say "Cheese"... or "Combo Burrito"

Becca (my brother Greg's wife)
&
Beckie (my husband Mike's wife)
Has anyone seen my upper lip?
I seem to have lost it...

A group shot after celebrating Campbell's birthday at Fuddruckers (bet you can't say that 5 times fast)

Lori (my sister) & Beckie (me)
now i can see where the absent upper lip originates...
at least i'm in good company.

The fellas

The gals
T.H.E. E.N.D.

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