A Simple Truth

35

Today this guy turns 35

 He is a pretty fantastic guy... oh wait, he's a nice guy
(or so he would tell you. hehe)

Not feeling extra cheesy today, so I won't list 35 of his greatest qualities. 

But we couldn't let it pass by without saying... 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

From your lovely family

Buzz

This evidence was found at 6:00 on a Saturday night.... 

the incident hadn't happened much earlier, 

the wrappers will still wet with saliva. 

The ice not yet melted.
(I should mention that this cup was over 1/2 full of a caffeinated drink.)

The guilty party was found... she is 2 1/2 years old.

Do you think she will sleep tonight?

What I didn't photograph was the kitchen chair she pushed across the kitchen to climb onto the counter, to get the tin of sweets off the fridge.

For a brief moment I was amazed that she pulled this off without either one of us knowing, but then I realized how smart she was.... she went outside to enjoy her prize in peace... and out of ear shot.

Better Late than Never, Right?

This is for you mom... Merry Christmas!!  HA!

1. Bought lunch for the car behind us in the drive through I was getting my coke

2. Hannah helped Saran get her things put away one morning at school.

3 .Megan emptied the dishwasher for Hannah.

4. Milo surprised Jeff by pre-pasting his toothbrush & leaving it for him to find. 

   (We won't tell Milo that the toothpaste fell off, so Jeff didn't notice, he just asked who was using his toothbrush.)

5. Cleaned Hannah's room.

6. Paid for the car behind us in line at McDonald's

7. Brought in grocery carts.

8. Hannah and her friend asked another friend who was lonely at recess to join them in their game of tag.

9. Patiently waited for my turn at redbox, while a group of teenagers took their sweet time 

deciding on movies in the cold windy. I even smiled & told them, no rush!

10, 11, 12. Hannah drew Milo's name when we did Secret Santa. Even though she said "this is going to kill me!"      

                She sought out every opportunity she could find to do acts of kindness for him. 

                (helped him get ready for bed, cleaned up his messes, left him notes on his bed, etc.)

13, 14. Brought in the garbage cans 2 weeks in a row for Jeff, something I usually never do.

15. When we were on one of our evening drives to see Christmas lights we went to the home of The Stone Family.

Fantastic lights that included a huge screen in the front yard & music videos.

They were accepting donations that they were giving to  OK Foster Wishes.

16. The kids put dollars into the bucket of the best Salvation Army bell ringer, 

and then we sat and listened to him belt out Christmas Carols.... he was the best bell ringer!

17. Bought lunch for the car behind us AGAIN at McDonald's.... 

we've had a lot of McDonald's this month, that $4.99 for 20 nuggets is a steal!

18. Left a bag of quarters taped to the tower of quarter candy machines.

19, 20. Took the bag of nasty diapers that I usually have collecting in the garage out to the garbage can...

Rather than leave them at the garage door for Jeff.

And I did this a few different times! (That's big, HUGE!)

21. Threw our change in the parking lot for others to find...

 "Find a penny, pick it up, all the day you'll have good luck!" 

22. Gave money to people in the parking lot at Old Navy.

23.Got out of my car to move a few stray grocery carts that were waiting for a gust of wind 

so they could do some damage & that happened to be taking up good parking spaces 

24. When approached by the bishop on Christmas Sunday I said yes to talking in Church.... 

I must have been taken over by the Christmas spirit.

25. Donated to the Regional Food Bank

Thanks, loved it!

Gram & Gramp

August 6, 2011
Way back in the summer we decided to take a detour to St. George on our way back to OKC...
The reason for the detour was to see my cute grandparents.
It was a quick trip, but I made sure to squeeze in some pictures before we left.

Vivien didn't appreciate being thrown on the lap of a stranger.

Just 2 of my favorite people...

Someone has corrupted Gram... by teaching her to throw signs...

Just the girls... taken by Milo

Isn't Gram the sweetest lady ever? No? Well she totally rocks!!

Love you Grams!

Martin Nature Park

Back in October we went for a little adventure at Martin Nature Park
2

I had to convince this kid that he wanted to go by looking up the park online & showing him pictures. 

He agreed, but wasn't excited... he changed his mind once we got there.

Viv was adamant on carrying the backpack that was filled with water bottles.

I think it was a bit heavy.

There were trails to hike, a river of sorts to play in, and a big bird watching fort up in a tree.

Fall Flowers...

Did you know we moved? Did I not mention it in all of my blog posts? HA!
Well we did... back in June!
This is our cute home that is located in a cul-de-sac, and we LOVE it!

This post isn't full of new house pictures... it is full of yard pictures.

Jeff's parents, The Taylor's, were here in early October and I failed to get many pictures.

But Jeff's mom loves yard work, and took pity on our sad yard. She did some weeding & planting.

I jumped in to help at the very end as we put down mulch & added some pumpkins.

I can't say thanks enough...

I love it, it makes me so happy!

What you can NOT see in this picture below is all the tulip bulbs she planted under the tree.

Walk-A-Thon

Hannah's school had a walk-a-thon in early October.
We surprised her and showed up to give support.

Vivien was much more excited than Milo... it was during nap time.

Here is Hannah coming around after her 1st lap. She made a goal of 6 laps, because she is 6.

We went to catch up and join her, but between her speed walking skills,
and my little ones not being so thrilled, we didn't last but one lap.

She did it... plus 1 extra lap.

Grandpa Great

While we were in Utah... did you know we were in Utah? 

What, I didn't mention in on this blog? That's strange! 

Anyway... we went to Utah back in July, and while we were there we took a little trip 

down to Delta to see Jeff's grandpa.  He is such a jolly fellow, I love it, he is always smiling!

Can I just tell you that I think he is the cutest old man ever! I've thought that since I met him 10 plust years ago. Perhaps it is because Jeff is so very fond of him and has always told me wonderful things about him.

This is Grandpa Taylor with the my girls... both of which were named after his wife, Vivian Venese. I remember loving her name from the first time I heard it.

We opted for the less common spelling and went with Vivien (why would anyone go with the less commong spelling? Dumb! Don't ask, there is a story there, and I will save it for another time.) And Hannah's middle name is Venese. Jeff's grandma didn't like her first name and went by Venese. 

This man has nothing to say but sweet things about his dear wife. You can tell he loves and misses her.

Isn't my Milo just the sweetest little boy? He is just so angelic... HA!

Now this picture makes me so happy!

National Entitlement Awareness Day

Did you know today was National Entitlement Awareness Day? I didn't even know there was such a thing, but there is and that day is today!

I don't know about you, but I am scared to raise my kids now where there seems to be a real issue with entitlement syndrome among the youth. I for one don't want my kids to feel they are entitled to anything and everything. Richard and Linda Eyre are the authors of some great books. (See a list here) and they also started the Joy School Method, and they have a new book coming out called, The Entitlement Trap. Sounds good right?

I don't think I ever blogged about my little getaway I had in the spring. It was a quick trip to Utah with only Vivien (she flies free and my family hadn't seen her in a long time.) The reason the trip was even planned was to attend a Power of Moms retreat in Park City. It was wonderful! One of the wonderful woman who started POM's is the daughter of Richard and Linda Eyre, and the retreat was at they Eyre's home. The retreat was just what I needed, and I can't wait to pull my notes out again and implement some of their great ideas. (Yeah, it is taking me that long, it was information overload and then I came home and we went on a crazy house hunt and then a move, and then we had to enjoy the rest of summer.) The Eyres were amazing to listen to, and I would love to have them for my question answering pleasure for a week! With the release of this new book I am ready to really get some good family systems going in my home.

They also happen to be doing a giveaway and a chance to pre-order their book. You can read all about it here!