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.

We Interrupt This Program

For a short injury time-out...
and while we're at it,
let's play a little game
WHO'S (bloody, gashed) LEG IS IT ?

'
'
'
'
'
v

and the winner is....
McKay !!!

and let this be a lesson to you... never try & balance on a razor-sharp, non-stable object to try & win the affection of the lady folk.

unless you live by the old mantra
"Chicks Dig Scars"

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

Back To Life... Back To Reality

This is how I feel the Monday after a glorious Spring Break vacation with my Little Peeps.

* 5:15 am comes waaaaay too early
* children gone... off to school
* husband working 18+ hours today
* suitcases to unpack
* stinky dog to bathe
(not gonna happen tonight)
* still fuming about my speeding ticket

All I Want To Do Is:
a) crawl under the covers
b) pretend I'm still on vacation
c) crawl under the covers & pretend I'm still on vacation
BINGO.
Back To Life
Back To Reality

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.

Whoa Mama!

Courtney's favorite activity these days is to play "mama & babies".

She is really stepping it up a notch in the super-mom department, usually having multiples
(sometimes as many as FIVE!!)
You Go Mama Court!
The other day she asked me to make something to help her tote her babies around.
Here is what we came up with...

She wanted to try & put 1 more baby on each side, but c'mon, let's not get nuts.

Courtney, you are going to be a GREAT mom!

Can We Sue?

If you thought my "bling" injury was weird, check THIS out!

We were eating take-out one night
(not that we EVER do that)
and Jon "speared" himself with a
french fry.
There was blood.
Another sneak attack from the "French".

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

FYI:
having long, beautiful, curly blonde hair is not all fun & games.

pros vs cons
* having hair to braid, put in pig tails, or leave long & flowing:
* FUN *

* letting your hair swing as you dance the night away:
* FUN *

* getting your long hair wound around the button of your dress & subsequently needing to cut it off
* NOT FUN *

Try Not To Giggle

Tony seemed a bit bewildered when he came to me in tears & I immediately grabbed the camera...
can you blame me?

how cute is THAT??

and apparently the love of wearing Mr. Potato Head's accessories runs in the family.

looking spiffy McKay!

Friday Flashback

2002
Sweet Baby Courtney
happy

splashy

sleepy

dreamy