Hello everyone! I've decided that I'm gonna try to blog again. Wish me luck! In Mark's family, we're sending out weekly updates in an email, so I'll post them here as well. Hopefully I'll have a few cute pictures to add! :o) Here's Jan. 4th -10th:



Ok....here's this last week, in 100 000 words or less. :oD Yes, I know I'm late. Sorry....

Monday: Fist day of 'normalcy' as the kids go back to school, Mark goes back to work, & I go back to workout/shopping/housework. Christmas decorations are still everywhere. So is Taylor. So is Taylor's shedded diaper. Christmas....Taylor. Christmas...TAYLOR. *sigh!*

Tuesday: Much of the same as Monday...only more laundry. :oD ....& I thought it was done the day before!..... Christmas still isn't coming down. We still light up the tree & open the front windows to show everyone our Christmas spirit. lol! Maybe I can get Kelli to pull the plug on the outside lights.... So...anyone want to get the boxes down from storage for me?

Wednesday: I got to lead the workout today. you get SOOO much more tired when you're the one yelling out the counts & doing extra reps to show the new moves.... no wonder the instructors are always so ripped. lol! Bonus...I got to play with my sister, Mary, at Taipan trading. Taylor continues to strip off her diaper & insist on using the 'potty.' She's pretty good & can go on demand. maybe I should train her...naa.... She's still my baby. :o)

Thursday: New development---Kelli pulled the plug on the house lights. No more icicles for us! *sigh* First day of Women's BBall. First time ref-ing in a year! Felt good! i also played a game while mom Harker tended. Time to work on my shot---though we still won. It was still a lot of fun. I'm pleased with the sportsmanship we've got going this year. It makes all the difference. Last year was kind of scary. Christmas is still up. Anyone feeling sad that Christmas is done can come here for a pick-me-up.

Friday: The kids had early release today from school. I love those days, because they don't have any homework that I have to keep them working on. :o) Mikey * I even got to play for 30 minutes on the ps3 (he got to play longer--Mom's never get to play!). That evening, Mark & I went to dinner with some co-workers * his client that went public, Ancestry.com. We went up to Park City & ate at Grappa, a nice Italian restaurant. They have an amazing butternut bisque there! it was a great evening--the CEO of ancestry & his wife were just amazing people, & it was fun to talk to Mark's co-workers! I'm looking forward to running with them in June--Mark & I signed up to do the Wasatch Back. Time to train again!

Saturday: Mark's BBall game, Charlotte's wedding shower, & a visit to Jake & Melissa's beautiful new home. It's really closer than I had expected. :o) That's great news! Maybe we should have an FHE up there sometime.... Just saying...

Sunday: Things were so much more calm today...the kids sat quietly in Sacrament meeting. :o) Taylor actually went to nursery for the first time in a couple weeks (runny nose had stopped enough, finally). We even had most of the afternoon to ourselves...with the exception of choir practice. It was quite exciting actually. There's no sitter for the kids there, so they fend for themselves in the nursery right next to the chapel, although Kelli is supposed to be keeping an eye on Taylor. Taylor comes to visit us quite often. :o) one of her visits, Kelli actually noticed that she was leaving the nursery, but wasn't able to stop her from coming into the Chapel until she was halfway down the aisle. Normally, that wouldn't have been a big ordeal, but this time, Taylor had left her pants & her diaper in the nursery. :oD I think she's my first to streak in the chapel. lol! Kind of memorable! Even better was that when Kelli caught up to her, Taylor didn't want to be caught & let everyone know by screaming as loud as she could. So there was Kelli & Taylor in the middle of the aisle, struggling (Kelli), screaming (Taylor), & half naked (Taylor again). Nice. There's some excitement with choir, too....We're practicing some songs that I don't think will be approved by the bishop. (Note that I'm not the director anymore, & when passing the mantle, I was pretty sure I mentioned that only the use of hymns was allowed--anything else would have to be approved by Bishop). It was kind of crazy. :o) Afterwards, as Mark & I were picking up toys in the nursery with the kids, we picked up the drum & tambourine & started singing one of the songs--do you think they'd let us use the instruments in sacrament?! It really sounded great! lol!

That was our week from my view. Sorry it's long. I'd try to do better, but I talk too much anyway, so it won't happen. Maybe Mark should pick up on this again. Tag, Mark. You're it!

Joy

Taylor & Tulips

I'm trying out this new camera's video format to see if it works on blogger. I hope so! They're great quality! This one of my tulips & Taylor out in the rain is so cute. Mostly it's Taylor being so cute. :o)

10th Anniversary, & trying out the New Camera

Happy 10th

Anniversary, to Mark & me! :o) (on May 1st)

For our 10th anniversary, we decided it was a good occasion to replace our old camera (since it so conveniently decided to quit on us, just in time for some special family birthdays...grrr). It was either that, or some new hardware for the front door. Funny, how we use these occasions to purchase things we already needed. :o) Like socks & underwear. Good thing the tradition for the 10 yr. anniversary is something tin or aluminum, not cotton or knit. :o)

Here's to us, sweetie! Love the memories we've made, & excited for the ones we're gonna make! You make marriage wonderful!

Taylor also turned ONE! (More pictures forthcoming) She decided to celebrate her new acheivement by falling face-first onto a cinderblock. Her owie scabbed over the next day. Poor girl! Good thing she's so tough...she only cried for about 5 minutes. ;o)Night time cuddles.... & having fun playing with the new camera. :o)Taylor seeing the flower...
...touching the flower...

...squishing the flower! That's my girl!
Our waterfall. It hasn't been running for a while, though...it uses up too much water! I feel guilty filling it up!

This is the view I see of Taylor more often than not! She's been a speeder lately!

Hey there, cute girl....HOLD STILL!

The tulips were all closed because it was so rainy. I was lucky to catch a quick, rainless moment for pictures!

Kelli & a squishy face!

Pretty girl

I love our camera! Thanks for the anniversary gift (to us both) Mark!

Addie's Preschool Christmas Program

Seriously????? I never posted this???? What whats I thinking?! :oD I need to get my act back together. lol!

Silly on St. Patty's Day

We were having some fun with the camera again. Addie made this funny little beard-&-ears set for a leprechaun in preschool. What do you do with leprechaun ears & a paper beard? Wear them, of course! Don't ever think I don't do embarrassing stuff--it was the only way to get Addie to wear them for a quick pic. :o)
Taylor didn't do so well with the ears---forget the beard! She just wanted to play!
Thanks for the fun memories, Addie!

11 month old Princess!

A litte princess tiara + one sweet little baby girl = some fun Sunday afternoon memories!

Taylor had just turned 11 months old the day before, so it was time for some memorable pictures. Funny how one little baby can get the whole family laughing & excited about just about anything. :o) Enjoy the pics!

Are we supposed to eat this?

*Gasp!* We're not?So...what do we do with it?

We wear it!!!

Playing Peek-a-booLaughing at siblings, who were laughing at her. It was contagious!

Daddy....help?
That's our little Princess!

Water, Bubbles, & a Bathing Baby!

Bath-time is quickly becoming Taylor's favorite. All it takes is seeing that bathroom door open, & she's off! racing to get in there, trying to climb into the tub. :o) If she hears the tub running & the door is closed, she's at the door, knocking, pounding, & calling out to let us know she's ready for a bath!

Just before I took this video, the water was filling up...Taylor loved seeing the water run from the spigot & figured out a new trick: licking the water as it ran into the tub. ?!?!?! Where did she get that idea? She did it over & over, but I wasn't able to catch her doing it on film. This video clip might show how brave she is with water in her face...

Crazy girl!

Family Pictures!

We finally got it done again--back in November, actually! At least I'm finally getting around to posting them! Maybe before long, I'll use them as our photos on our main blog page! Here's a few of our pics. If there's anything you would absolutely LOVE to have, let me know, & I can send you a full sized pic in an email, or make a print & snail-mail it. :o)