Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Little Stinker Pot turned 2 this month!  It was so fun to celebrate her special day with our families.  Lottie was so into opening her presents and playing with everything.  It's safe to say that she can hold her own as the center of attention.  Her daddy took her to 5 Guys for her birthday lunch while I was getting my hair done.  He ordered her a burger and her own Diet Coke.  She is almost more of an addict than I am!  Now I just drink mine in the closet or during her nap. :)

 Baby Girl got her own 3-wheeled scooter, and it made her very happy!  She is, however, the queen of the neighborhood and is still stealing every other toy she can from all the neighbors' garages.

 She was in heaven with two new dress ups that actually fit her.  

 I don't know who loves Rody, the pink hoppy horse, more--Charlotte or her brothers and sister.

 She was all about the cake and blowing out her own candle.  She ate her own piece, and then continued to eat off of everyone else's plates.

 What girl doesn't need her own princess umbrella?  We have snuggled many times under it.  (And it's not big enough for two!)

 Lottie and Nana

 My sweet Lucy was so good to her sissy all day.  Lucy made sure that Lottie was happy and had everything she wanted.

We love you, our sweet, sassy baby!  

If there were awards for non-verbal communication skills, Charlotte would win.  She is an expert communicator--she just doesn't use many words besides "mine, no, hey, bobby (bottle), mom followed by MOM in her best growl, daddy/honey/Shea, yes, Nana, Papa, kitty, goggie, nama (grandma), and bampa."

She loves to play babies, dollhouse, kitchen, and school with Lucy.  They are best friends and I get so happy when I see them together playing.

Charlotte loves all fruits and vegetables and especially tomatoes and raspberries from our bushes.  It is rare that anyone else gets more than one berry a day because she has already eaten the rest.  She also loves string cheese, Laughing Cow cheese, hummus, pickles, and anything the kids are eating in front of her.

Kindergarten

My sweet, best buddy started kindergarten on Monday.  She was so excited every day to go.  On the first day she was up and dressed by 7:15, but she has the afternoon class.  Her wait was a little excruciating that day.  I have asked her if she would rather stay home with me and wait until next year, and her answer is always the same.  She has informed me that she misses her school and her teacher when she is at home.  Now I just hope she feels the same way about missing home and me while she is at school.

Fourth Grade

11 Years

Goodbyes

We have said goodbye to too much family this year.  While everyone who has moved has done it for wonderful reasons, we are sad to see them go so far away.
Ben and Olivia and family moved to Virginia because Ben now works for Senator Lee.  The change was a big one, but they seem happy.  Now we have a place to stay when we visit Washington DC--a place I have never been!
Adam and Ashley were not really here, but now they're even farther away.  Adam finished dental school and is now a dentist in New Hampshire.  I'm positive that everyone in that family is glad that his school is over and they are more settled!
Cameron and Ashley just moved to St. George so Cam could manage the Kneaders that just opened there.  The store is doing amazingly well and Cam is really proving how great he is at his job.  Luckily they are close enough to visit often.
Judd and Candace made the cross-country trip to West Virginia for medical school.  While it's something that we always knew would happen, it was still sad to see them go.  We are so happy that they are getting to do what they've always planned and wanted.
Shea's grandparents, Poppy and Chrismom, and uncle Randy just moved last week to Reno.  Randy got a job there and they decided to move while they are still young enough to enjoy it!  (Yes, they are 93 and almost 92.)  They are such amazing people, and I feel so lucky that they lived close to us until now.

With Jake and Andrea in Olympia and Todd and Jane in Mesa, we have no shortage of places to stay almost anywhere in the country!  Who is ready for a visit?

Pinewood Derby--Year 2

This was our 2nd year competing in the Pinewood Derby.  I love that Shea cares so much about helping his boys and emphasizing to them that if they work hard it will pay off.  This year paid off big time.  Camden won every race his car entered, and Cooper won every race except when his car raced Camden's. That means the Taylor boys swept the first and second places.  That night I went from feeling nervous for my boys to proud of how their cars were doing to guilty that it was such a clear victory.  All the boys worked so hard on their cars, and I hated to see how disappointed some of them were.  I can't say I felt bad for their dads, however.  They can handle the defeat, and after the teasing that Shea endured after smoking the paternal competition, they deserved it! :)

 Cooper with his second place car and Camden with the first place winner!

For posterity's sake, I have to mention that the super-intense race track guy told Cam and Coop that their cars were fast enough to compete in the national race and that they were the second and third fastest cars that had ever raced on his track.  Who knew people cared that much?

Shea turns...!

I told most of you I have been busy planning parties!  I didn't want Shea to feel left out.  His birthday is at the end of birthday-palooza around here.  I tend to always be burned out by the time it's his turn.  I take the easy way out and lump his cake with the kids, and we just go to dinner to celebrate.  This year we went to dinner at Tuscany on his birthday.  It was so yummy!  I love spending time with my husband.
To make him feel special, I planned a kind of surprise birthday fiesta for him and invited some of our friends.  It was supposed to be a warm, spring evening where we mingled and ate by the pool at my parents house.  Because of the stupid rain, we had to go inside to the basement.  I was just grateful I had another option!  With help from my awesome friends we had shredded pork burritos or salads, salsa, guacamole, fruit, Mexican drinks, and Costco sorbet for dessert.

 This was while I was on the phone with the alarm lady.  Something set off a motion detector and I didn't have the password and code to turn anything off.  Since I didn't know anything, the lady dispatched the police and fire department to check everything out.  That was exciting!  I got to talk to the policeman and explain who I was and why I didn't know anything!  Then the firemen had to come--truck, lights and all--to check it out.  Their opinion was that a spider or something had crawled into one of the sensors and set everything off.  My parents were flying to California for Adam's graduation from dental school, so they were unreachable.  Did you know that after only 20 minutes or so (and a ginormous headache) the alarm turns itself off?  Thank heavens.  I about died of embarrassment.  I felt better after talking to my mom who said that it had happened to her before.  She didn't know the code either. :)

 Many were entertained by the shocking game.

 And others were entertained just watching people get shocked!

While it was a lot of work, it was a lot of fun too.  Thanks friends!