I finally uploaded photos...some old, some new

Our ward had a luau last week. The kids were so excited to dress up. They were certain that our family would win the prize for best costumes. We went all out. I had a grass skirt on (over a normal skirt) and a flower in my hair. The boys kept telling me how beautiful I looked. Is that all it takes?

Aunt Kelly is a favorite of ALL the girls!
Happy birthday, Grandma!
Remember eating school pizza for lunch? Yum! We've eaten with the boys the past 3 Fridays. Lucy is in heaven. She would stay at school all day if I let her.

The boys like to clean off lunch tables instead of going to recess on some days. Cleaning earns them "cougar bucks" that they use to buy knick-knacks at the school store later. I'm thinking of implementing "taylor tender" or something to get them to clean up more at home. They're actually great cleaners; I've just been overwhelmed lately.

It's over!

And I must admit it was a very spiritual experience for me.  I felt the hand of the Lord as I was preparing all week, and I really felt like what I said was what He wanted me to say.  I was validated and pretty shocked when the stake president used a lot of the same phrases that I did.  He is either very good at listening to the talks before his and using that information to form the thoughts he shares, or we were on the same page.  I like to believe it was the latter.

So many people said so many kind things about my talk and have gone out of their way to do so.  My dad even said that I made him cry.  That is no small task.  I think I've seen him cry only when saying goodbye for two years to each of my brothers as they left to serve their missions.  That's three times in my whole life.  So, thank you to all of you for your encouraging and kind words.  You really made me feel adequate.

I knew it was going to be an emotional night when the choir opened the meeting by singing "A Child's Prayer."  I'm so grateful I didn't have to immediately follow that song.  I cried through almost my whole talk, but I was blessed (I guess that's what you'd call it) to be able to speak in an understandable voice.  At least Shea told me he could understand every word.

I have been thinking a lot about the relationships I have been blessed to have in my life.  First, and most importantly, I have an amazing husband that loves me.  I have three beautiful and caring children who are so pure and so good.  And I have a family (Burrs and Taylors) who would support me through anything--and do just that.

I also have been blessed to have relationships with so many talented, amazing and inspiring friends.  Thank you.  You have no idea what your influence and examples have done for me.

Happy birthday, Ally and Chase!

So I'm a week late for Chase's birthday, but I've had a busy week!  I do love that kid though.  He is so good and honest and...good.  Now he's a teenager, and one of the greatest ones I know.  Happy late birthday, bud.

And his smokin' hot sister, Ally turned 15 today.  What a ride her parents are in for!  She is one of the happiest, most outgoing, funniest girls ever.  If I were 15, I'd want to be just like Ally.  I'm a little bit older than that and I still want to be just like her.  Have a good one, sweet girl!

Shea and I dropped the kids off at Nana and Papa's for an evening of fun.  We went to watch Matt and Marc play football.  It was so nice to be able to watch the game for once!

Tomorrow should be super busy.  Soccer game at 11, shopping for a new outfit to speak in, Candace's baby shower at 3, BYU game in between, stake conference meeting at 7...

Wish me luck!

What we've been doing

Stuff.  That pretty much sums it up.  We've kept busy with doing stuff.  Nothing exciting, but time consuming all the same.  We've been busy with everything from Fall soccer season, Matt and Marc's senior year of football at Lone Peak, BYU football and entertaining neighbors during half time, baby Victoria's blessing, primary, school, back to school night, stake bishopric dinner, creating and mailing baby shower invites, finishing that stupid Breaking Dawn book, shopping in Park City, cleaning, cooking, laundry...

and preparing my talk for our adult STAKE CONFERENCE meeting on Saturday evening.  You might not hear from me again this week.  ugh.  

Happy Anniversary, Hot Stuff! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Yes, I got married on my mom's 40th birthday.  She scheduled the temple that day, and it happened to be one of the last Saturdays before school started.  It was a beautiful day, and I love sharing it with her every year now.  

I woke up to get the boys ready for school and found that Shea had left a sweet note on the fridge that wished me a happy anniversary.  He was working his 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. weekly temple shift.  That won't stop us from celebrating though!  I'm excited to spend this afternoon and evening with my favorite person in the whole world.  We really are a perfect match, and the last 8 years could not have been better or happier.  I don't know what people are talking about when they tell you the first year is tough and that there's something called a "7 year itch."  Those people must not be married to the most wonderful person ever.  I love you, babe.

For the birthday Lucy, Shea and I celebrated with my mom, dad, Olivia, Audrey, Cameron, and Ashley at Thai Village for lunch.  

My mother is the most giving, service-minded, selfless person I have ever heard of.  She is fun, always busy, and amazingly spiritual.  Everyone who meets her instantly loves her.  I am blessed to have her as my mother and my example.  I love you, Mom! 

First day of forever...

I never realized how emotional I would be when my boys started spending most of their days away from me. I have been torn between being so happy and excited for them to be in first grade--I remember clearly a lot of things that happened to me when I was in first grade--and being sad that the first six years of their lives went so quickly. I can't even fathom how quickly the next six will go. Despite my feelings, today was a milestone.
The boys popped out of bed and hurriedly dressed themselves in the outfits they picked out last night. They decided that if they slept in just underwear, they would be able to get dressed in no time. It worked! The morning routine went smoothly even though I got teary while making their first lunches to eat in the lunch room.
We took them to school, everyone dressed and pictures taken by 9. Lucy couldn't forget her backpack! We walked them into their classroom, helped them unload their pencil boxes and teacher supplies, and introduced them to the two other boys sitting across from them. I got teary again as I kissed them and told them to have a great day! The smiles on their faces were priceless and seeing them helped my heart.
As I went through my day I couldn't help but think of them. When would they have recess? When would they eat lunch? Would they find the love notes I tucked in between their sandwiches and their chips? Would they make friends? Would they do well on their work?
I spent the day making cupcakes and entertaining Lucy. I planned with some neighbors to have a first day of school celebration. We set a table up by the bus stop and loaded it with all kinds of treats. Jerianne had decorated with balloons anchored by picture books and accented with apples. It was so festive! The kids' faces lit up when they got off and saw all the food. They each picked a treat or three and headed home. It was definitely a tradition I want to continue each year.
I didn't get much out of the boys until dinner. They were too busy playing outside with friends. They told me later that they had a fun day, had two recesses, asked the teacher when they got to go home, and took a nap on their desk. We're still working on enforcing an earlier bed time. The nap, they told me, was after they finished their papers and were waiting for the rest of the class to finish too. Knowing them, I'm sure it wasn't much of a nap.
Tomorrow...day 2, and my 8th anniversary!

Happy birthday, Uncle Cam!

Cam celebrated his 1-year home from his mission mark and his 22nd birthday! To celebrate the adults in the family went to see the comedian Brian Regan at Thanksgiving Point. We laughed our heads off and had a great time.

We love you, Uncle Cam Cam! We hope your day was happy.

Cam has a lot of new things happening in his life. He is moving out into a condo with friends next week, he has a new job (but he worked there before his mission) at California Pizza Kitchen as a server, and he is starting culinary school at UVU at the end of the month. It's definitely an exciting time!

Super Duper

I did a post dedicated to Camden last week, and Cooper keeps seeing it and asking me to post a picture of just him.  How can you say no to this cute kid?

Cooper is my sweetheart.  Lately he has been so good with Lucy.  He wants to make her bottles, get her clean diapers, and he is especially good at watching her while she is outside playing with him and all the neighbor kids.  He and Camden are best friends, and I love that.  I watch them interact sometimes, and I am touched by how close they are.  I hope they are always each other's #1.

Lately I have been heard to say that I would love to have another set of twins, and for the most part, I would.  These boys are wonderful!  They are so excited to start first grade--it makes me so sad, but I have to keep encouraging them.  And I will.  They need the challenge and the feeling of accomplishment that comes from doing everything so well.

I love you, little buddy!

My Broadway Top 10

1.  Les Miserables...no matter how many times I have seen this, I cry every time when Fantine gives her daughter to Valjean's "keeping" and then dies.  I think this story is the most powerful and the most moving of any play I've seen.  The balance between Mercy and Justice is one of the most difficult to attain.  With that said, my favorite character is Javert--the policeman.  I know, he's supposed to be the bad guy but whoever plays him is always very strong and has an incredible voice.  I have often said that if I were to choose one single talent it would be to have a broadway-worthy voice.

Shea and I had the opportunity to see this on Saturday night at Tuacahn.  It was wonderful and the talent was as good as I've seen (with a few exceptions.  Jean Valjean there was a little too stylized and yell-y for me, and he barely made it through "Bring Him Home.")  

I saw Les Mis on Broadway in October of last year with two of my SILs.  It was unreal.  I'm so glad I went then; it's gone now.

2.  Jekyll and Hyde...yes, I realize I've only seen this at the Hale, but it was amazing.  I actually went three times while it was playing.  I've known the music forever, but to watch as one man plays two characters simultaneously who sound completely different as he sings--it's pretty unbelievable.  

3.  Wicked...do I need to explain?  When I went in NYC last Fall, we had the chance to see the woman who originated the role of Elphaba.  She is the one raking in the money from the royalty checks each month.  It was a chance of a lifetime!

4-10 change spots depending on what I'm in the mood to see.  Miss Saigon, Phantom, Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Pirates of Penzance, Hairspray...

Happy birthday, Audrey!

We had a fun party yesterday for 2-year-old Audrey.  We swam in the pool, had a yummy dinner, sang "Happy Birthday to You" which sounded like the MoTab (must have been Olivia's family's singing--my family sounds horrible!) ate cake with ice cream,  and watched as Audrey opened a million presents.  

We hope she had a great birthday!  Lucy and she are very best friends and it is so fun to watch them grow up together.  

things I love about being a mom

Sunday Camden and Cooper came home from church with new copies of the Book of Mormon.  These are the first scriptures that are actually theirs, so they think it's a pretty big deal.  Not that we don't teach them at home, but I am grateful for wonderful primary teachers who magnify their callings and use inspiration when planning lessons.  My boys have read from their scriptures every day since Sunday.  They have insisted on starting with the introduction and have continued on to the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses.  I suggested that they could just start in First Nephi, but Cam told me he wanted to read the whole book, so I'm letting him.  It's a challenge for 6-year-olds to be reading words like ancient, beheld, Nephites, and those other scripture related words, but they are doing a diligent and wonderful job.  

The reward came yesterday when Camden asked me when he needed to pray about the scriptures.  I thought he was talking about the daily prayer that accompanies scripture study, but he was really talking about Moroni's promise that if we read the Book of Mormon and then pray to know if it is true, the Lord will answer our prayer.  I answered his question that he could pray every day when he read.  He immediately set his book on the table, and ran over to the family room chair to kneel down.  He looked at me and said, "Mom, do I just say, 'Heavenly Father, is the Book of Mormon true?'"  

"Yep.  That's exactly what you say."  I answered.

He bowed his head and a few seconds later came running over to me to give me a hug.

"Mom!  It's true!  Heavenly Father said yes!  Now I know what His voice sounds like."  Camden was so excited, and I was profoundly touched by the faith and obedient example of my sweet child.    

Two more things I love...

Burr Family Reunion

We spent Wednesday evening through Friday in Eden, Utah, up Ogden Canyon at a reunion for my dad's family.  We had two vacation homes rented with 11 bedrooms total for about 50 people.  My dad had siblings come from California and Arizona and at one point all 9 siblings were together for the first time in 7 years.  We had a great time playing late night games, swimming, eating, and laughing together.

My dad called on Wednesday afternoon to ask if the boys wanted to ride up with him in his motorhome.  I asked them while I was on the phone and they were so excited.  Lucy couldn't be left out either.  She grabbed her wheeled backpack, ran to the door, raised her hand, and said, "Me, home, me!"  She loved traveling in grandpa's "home."  Grandpa couldn't resist, so we all hitched a ride with him.

Wednesday we all gathered for Hogi Yogi sandwiches at dinnertime.  Most of us took the kids for an evening swim overlooking the gorgeous valley.  Among Ben, me, and all my aunts, we had 17 kids under 13 who all loved to play together.

On Thursday, some people went horseback riding, Ben and Shea went mountain biking, some of us went to Snow Basin to ride the tram--which was closed.  We ended up hiking around and playing games for a while in the grass.  We returned, and everyone met up at a park in Huntsville for a picnic, frisbee football, swings, and visiting.  Because of the heat, when we returned to our vacation homes the older kids went swimming and the babies napped.  The pool definitely filled up as soon as we all arrived!  That night for dinner was a delicious Costa Vida salad.  Once dinner was finished we met together for the dreaded "family council meeting" in the backyard.  We discussed future reunion plans and who would be in charge, and I was nominated by my dad to be our family historian.  Only then did I start taking lots of photos.  We also listened as my cousin, Connor, and my brother, Cameron, reported on their missions.  

Thursday night was spent playing Nerts, Scrabble, and watching movies.

Friday morning we woke up and took the 14 young kids to an adventure camp put on by the resort.  They shot dart guns at cardboard ducks, roped a steer, shot bows and arrows, pow-wowed in teepees, made dream catchers, played on swing sets, and had gunny sack races, and got their faces painted.  They all had a great time together!

We found our way back to the pool where we spent the rest of the afternoon.  My dad's brother brought his boat up to Pineview Reservoir and the teenaged kids enjoyed boating.  Everyone gathered again that night for bbq beef sandwiches and ice cream.

After dinner we packed up and headed home.  

Happy birthday, Uncle Jake!

The first time I actually saw Jake he was walking off the plane from his mission.  Shea and I had been married almost a year.

Baby Jake (in Candy's arms) and all the clan except Candace!

We sure miss you and Andie since you live so far away!  Maybe we'll all get together and have cake anyway--in your honor.

We hope your day is fun and exciting.  Thanks for being a great brother, in-law, and uncle.  

It's starting to sink in

Today while shopping at Costco I came across a startling realization.  In 31 days I will be packing two lunches and sending my babies to spend all day in 1st grade.  We won't be buddies all day anymore.  They won't be running to me every time someone hurts their feelings or they fall and hurt their various body parts.  I won't get to see their sweet smiles and delight in their sweaty hugs throughout the day.  

I'm very depressed about all of it, and so I will be thoroughly enjoying the next month while they're home with me.

2 year pictures

Before paying an outrageous amount of money for a sitting fee, Olivia and I decided that we would try to take pictures of our girls in my parents' yard with the nice cameras my dad gave us last Christmas.  Personally (and I am by no means any kind of photographer--I have no idea what the f stop does...something about the amount of light in the lens blah blah blah) I think they turned out pretty great.  Seriously, I've seen professional photos that I don't like as well.  

Anyway...should I go with one of these--or all of them--or do I need to get a real photographer to do it?  I'm positive I couldn't find a cuter model anywhere on the planet!  What a doll!  I had to take a picture of the back of her head because I love those curls so much.

happy birthday, Wiwia

Happy birthday to my amazing, wonderful sister-in-law.  Wia, you are the most patient, kind, thoughtful, positive and loving mother, aunt, and sister.  I love you!

(I obviously need to be better at taking pictures of my family members!  Sorry.)

Congratulations to Shea's sister, Holli and her hubby Phil, on the birth of their fourth beautiful baby.  Have you seen a cuter one?  I love the hair and her breath smells so sweet.  Holli is a super woman.  She had this baby with no drugs--at all.  She is way stronger than I will ever be.  I'll update this precious bundle's picture with her name once she has one.

Independence Day--and happy birthday Boston!

We spent the weekend in Midway at the Zermatt resort with some Taylor cousins and Mom and Dad Taylor.  We had a fantastic time swimming, mini golfing, riding the carousel, biking, eating, playing tennis, and enjoying fireworks.  I did miss the Provo parade a little bit, but it was nice to get away from the Fourth of July crowds that are always here.  

Happy 9th birthday to one of the coolest, nicest, most handsome kids we know.  We love you Bos!  

I have this running through my head...

and I can't get it to stop.

What's More American

Words and Music- Kadish Millet

What's more American than corn flakes?
The Fourth of July and Uncle Sam.
What's more American than baseball?
I am, I am, I am!

What's more American than tooth paste?
Rock and Roll, peanut butter, toast and jam.
What's more American than O.K.?
I am, I am, I am!

The Stars and Stripes, George Washington,
The Capitol Dome and Bubble Gum.
There's General Grant, and Robert E. Lee,
But most of all you can count on little old...
Me, Me, Me.

What's more American than ice cream?
Chow mein, pizza pie, Virginia Ham.
What's more American than bingo?
I am, I am, I am!

Ours is a heritage second to none.
We are a nation united as one.
Our Founding Fathers gave us that start,
And their love for our country lives on in ev'ry heart!

What's more American than Football?
T.V. and mighty Superman?
What's more American than saying
I am, I am, I am! 

I'm grateful for my country-- land of the free and home of the brave!