Happy 16th Birthday Taylor!

It's official, she's finally 16! She has been waiting for this day her entire life it seems, always acting like a teenager. The only problem now is that the countdown has begun on her time left at home, and it is coming faster than I would like. All my friends told me of the panic they had when their child got to their junior year of high school because they realized that all too soon they would be gone and out of the house. I didn't believe them. But now I know what they were talking about! I feel like time is short and we are planning future events around graduation. Scary!

These are a few of my favorite things about Taylor: I love her vibrancy for life. There is always a constant swirl of motion surrounding her that is contagious. I love that she has a tender heart is concerned for other people's feelings. I love that she has fun with little children and enjoys playing with them. I love that she is not fearful of a big project. She has all the confidence in the world that she can do whatever she sets her mind to. And she can! I love that she loves music and brings that into her everyday life, whether it's by singing, playing the violin, or the radio she is constantly with song. We love your zest, Taylor, and love that you are in our family.

Happy Birthday!

An Elle-ism

You know how your kids say funny things and if you don't write them down you forget? Elle had a great one today I thought I would share. She wanted some eggs for breakfast so I asked her which kind she wanted. She said she wanted round eggs, which could be hard boiled or fried. So she clarified that for me by saying that she wanted the "juicy" kind. "You know, the boogery kind" (fried egg, runny yolk, making the rest of it boogery). What a crack up! She definitely has a way of describing things!

Too Much Happening!

Well, I've had a lot going on the last little while, so I haven't updated this for a while. Some things to look for in the coming days . . .Taylor's 16th birthday, summer fun, and reunion photos. Catch you soon!

Happy Birthday Catelyn!

I thought I would do a year in review for everyone, since they grow so fast in the first year! Enjoy!

We Had Visitors!

Cliff & Melisa and Cecilia came to visit us over Memorial Day. Boy was that nice! They teamed up their visit with the Indy 500, which proved to be a gorgeous day and a good race. Thanks for coming out guys! We sure loved having you here!

Back in Business

Okay! We are back in business. A camera cord has been located, so I am now ready to post some more pictures. Yeah!!!!!

Patience is the Name of the Game!

Being in a family means that you don't always get to do the things you want to do, when you want to do them. Mostly this is the verbage that I use with my children when they complain that they don't get to do something. Recently I have realized that I have to use that phrase for myself! I have lots of pictures that I would really like to put on the blog from some of our activities over the past couple of months, but, alas, I cannot find the cable to plug my camera into my computer! The last person to use it was not me. Ahhhhhrrrg! So for now you will just have to know that I have some great pictures to update my blog with. And as soon as I find that cord I will first wring the neck of the person who misplaced it, and then get some pictures out for viewing!

End of Year Excitement

With the end of the school year upon us we have lots of things happening around here. Both Taylor and Alyssa had orchestra concerts that we were able to attend. Alyssa wanted the whole family to come (which was quite the challenge with the younger kids!) so I made them all stand for a picture afterwards. We don't often get everyone in the same place at the same time anymore! I am very proud of both the girls. They sounded great, and I think they are having a good time playing their instruments (Taylor violin, Alyssa cello).

Way to go girls!

Happy 13th Birthday Aly!

Wow, was this ever late! Sorry Aly! The batteries in my camera were dead so I used my cell phone to take pictures, which is why they look like they were taken with a cell phone! Alyssa is officially now a teenager, although I think she has claimed that title for quite a while already. Her social life is in full swing and she feels like she is missing a limb if she is out of contact with her friends for even a few minutes. Therefore losing her phone privileges is a very effective way for us to keep her focused on her studies and home life. She is a beautiful young lady who is full of life and very sensitive to others feelings. She is discovering who she is, and why she is here, which sometimes is painful. But she is a trooper. We love you!

Some of her favorite things are: her cell phone, friends, boys, cell phone, shopping, boys, cell phone, twilight, boys, & more boys. I think it's a toss up between the cell phone and boys! But we can't leave out the friends. What a cutie!

Ahhhh. . . Spring!

Spring always brings me back to life. After the long cold winter that is brown and dreary I love to see the colors start to pop out and all the vegetation begin to show signs of life again. My magnolia tree is so awesome because it is so big and when it is fully bloomed it is just beautiful with large pink blossoms!

The kids love to climb this tree because the branches are low and easy to get to. My friend Emily's kids (Erin and Nicole) were here this particular day and made great models as I snapped away with my camera.

Happy Birthday James!

Well, better late than never, right! March 15th was his big day, and he had a great one. He had his favorite breakfast to start the day, which is bacon and crepes with nutella. Then he got to play around the rest of the day. His friend Jonathan came over and hung out with him, and even brought him a gift, a new webkinz! Pizza was the dinner of choice, and then we could close out the day. As you can see he had a football cake which he loved! It is so easy to make a six year old happy. Why can't they stay that way?!

Here are a few of James' favorite things: football, video games (about football), pokemon, lego star wars, and football. He is becoming a good reader, and is very meticulous when he writes. He loves numbers and how they relate to each other, and he is passionate about whatever he is talking about. We love you buddy!

Future President?

Well, maybe, but for now she will settle for impersonating Lyndon B. Johnson, our 36th president. The third graders in her school do a research project on presidents and they each get assigned one. At the end of the project they do a wax museum where they dress up like their president and stand behind a red button, waiting for someone to push it so that they can give you the facts that they found out about their guy. She had fun with it, and did very well in her oral presentation. She didn't even use notes! The recording stops mid way through, but the fun facts that Emma would like you to know about (that she said after the recording stopped) are: Lyndon B Johnson had a Texas BBQ on top of the White House. And his wife, two daughters and first dog all had the initials of LBJ. Good job Emma! We sure are proud of you!

Catie on the Move

Well, our little Catelyn still loves the army crawl. She thinks she can get there faster doing it this way because this is the first way she learned. She does get up on hands and knees, but will only go so far before dropping to her belly. I decided that I had better get some video of it before she doesn't do it anymore! I wasn't expecting Stewart to walk by right then, but it gives you all a glimpse of her love for her dad. She will choose him over me almost every time, which is really kind of nice for a change!



Also, she popped her first tooth on Monday! Emma thought that it was cool that it happened on her birthday, and I was glad it happened then because now I will always know when her first tooth came in! Otherwise it might just be a forgotten moment in time. Isn't that sad? The second one was right behind it and came through the next day. Her temperament has been pretty good, although she has been a little more ornery than normal. But nothing that has prevented me from doing what needs to be done. She has been such a good baby!

Happy Birthday Emma!

Our cute Emma turned 9 today! I can't believe how the time has flown by. I was talking to Amelia today and remembered that I was pregnant with Emma when she and Sam got married. Crazy! Anyway, today Emma was the queen. She woke up to her favorite breakfast in bed (crepes!) on a breakfast tray. Does it get any better than that? She also got to create the dinner menu, which was tortellini soup and peasant bread. Yum! The only problem was that I used hot italian sausage instead of sweet and it was a little too spicy. But we still gobbled it up! Her cake was an oatmeal chocolate chip cake. I had never made it before, but she wanted to try it so we did. It turned out pretty good! And her friend Reilly got to be here to share her evening with her, which made it all the more special. I think she had a pretty great day.

What we love about Emma is her cute smile and willingness to help out. She tries so hard to help people feel better when they are sad or down; she has a very tender heart. And she loves to laugh! She knows how to have fun and gets us all to play a little more than we normally would. Thanks Emma for being in our family. We love you!

Snow Play

James & Elle were playing outside one day with Taylor and she took these videos of them. Stewart and I just laughed so hard at James kicking the car. Girls don't do this! As you can see, Elle is getting pretty upset that the car is turned over and tried so hard to put it back up. It is a classic look at the difference between boys and girls. The other one is just a fun look at kids eating snow. It made me remember one of the simple pleasures in life that children so easily find. When was the last time you ate snow, just for the fun of it?

Honored?

Friday night we received the "ultimate compliment" in the form of toilet paper streaming from our trees! Thanks Shawn and the gang! They defied the presence of Stewart working away at his computer, oblivious to what was happening outside, and must have had a great time. Stewart heard something outside and went to investigate, but all he saw was the decorated trees and Shawn's car heading down the street. The girls were watching a movie so he called them out and they danced under the toilet paper awning! And all I got to see of it were the pictures you are seeing now because they cleaned it up right then. No Fair! (I think?)

Pics

Here are some of my favorite pictures taken in the last couple of months. I can't believe how much Taylor and Alyssa are maturing! Of course they are all growing like weeds. I'm glad I have a camera and actually use it once in a while!