Birthday Pictures

Taylor's Birthday Weekend

It is hard for me to believe that my little girl is turning 13 on Sunday! An actual teenager...and she's already so good at it! We are throwing a big bash for her and some friends tonight. Well, a party anyway... We are taking her to the Mall for a scavenger hunt and then to the movie: 17 again. She's already seen it and loved it enough to take all her friends. Then, we plan to come back home for cake and presents. It should be a fun time.

Shaylie is staying over at Aunt Anissa's and tomorrow when she comes home we'll have a family bash. We might have some grandmas here too...we'll have to see.

Taylor is excited, I think. I'm sure they'll have a great time. I think she's growing up to be an amazing person. Here are some of my favorite things about my wonderful daughter:

• I love her determination-she is a go-getter. Anything she decides to do, gets done. She is very driven and result oriented. From the time she was very small, she would decide she wanted to learn something--tie her shoe, whistle, blow a bubble, ride a bike, do a backbend, play an instrument--and she would never give up until she had mastered that goal.  What an amazing talent to have!


• She is very responsible.  She has always been an incredibly independent girl.  I never have to remind her to get up, or get ready for school. She is very good at getting her homework and chores done and she almost always does whatever she is asked.  It's hard for us to remember sometimes that she is still just a kid..for a couple more days at least!


• She is very musical.  I love hearing Taylor sing, play the piano, play her flute, the guitar, the piccolo...even the trumpet, though she needs some practice on that..lol.  She brings such a wonderful spirit to her home with her ability. 


• She is a great friend.  Taylor has always gone out of her way to be a friend to everyone around her.  She won't believe that this is true-but I know she is admired by so many of her classmates and the people who know her. Whenever we see her around her friends, it always makes me smile to see how many people know her by name and smile and say HI or wave.  It gives me a warm feeling to know she is kind to everyone she meets. 


• Taylor is beautiful, inside and out!  She has such a smile!!!  When Taylor is happy the whole world lights up.  Her laugh is contagious and we hear it often.  I know Taylor feels the ugly duckling sometimes, but in my eyes there is no one more beautiful and amazing in this world...if I had one wish for her, it would be that she could see herself through the eyes of those that love her. 


• She has an unusually mature ability to snap herself out of a bad mood.  I think this is a gift.  If ever Taylor is having a bad day, it shows..just like it does with everyone...but Taylor can get over it so quickly.  It's like she just decides to be happy, and she does it.  (See first bullet.) She is a great example to me, since I'm a little slower to cool off.  :)


• Taylor is a girl with much faith and a strong testimony.  She is so much stronger than I was at her age.  She is a great example to our whole family of what it means to be a daughter of God.  I'm so proud of her for choosing to love her Savior and follow His plan for us.  She often shares her testimony with friends, and family and reminds all of us that faith is so important to our happiness. 

I could go on and on...but time is short and I still have lots of preparations to do.  We'll post some pics, and highlights soon!  Love you Tater Tot!  Have a terrific 13th birthday weekend!

Busy Day

We had a very busy day yesterday. At 8:00am we had Shaylie's Soccer Game, which was a 1-1 tie. So their record is now 0-2-3, I wish I could get that team a win, maybe next week. Taylor's game was at 9:00am, which they won 3-1. The championship tournament starts next week and they are the #1 seed, due to the weirdness of the playoff, they are playing the same team again and since it is Taylor's old team, it feels really good to beat them.
Then at 11:00am, Tonya and Shaylie went on a hike at Red Cliffs. When they came back, Taylor and I went to her friend's soccer game, which they lost in a shootout.
When we came home, Shaylie and I went to the annual kite festival. There was only one problem, little to no wind. We got her kite up a few times, but the wind would die after a few minutes and all the kites would come back to earth. But the good news is, she made the newspaper! Our family is getting famous, here is a link to her picture: Shaylie's Spectrum Photo!
All the while at home, we were watching the Star Wars Marathon on Spike (All six movies) and working on the train layout that is going to be displayed for the public at the scout festival this Saturday!

Scott's Article

I have scanned the article in...and here it is! We were hoping to just link directly to the Spectrum website...but alas, the one week they neglect to update the Neighborhood section is the one we were waiting for!!!

[gallery link="file" columns="2"]

Click here for the Article!

Heartbreaker Today!

We had two soccer games today and lost both! :( It was very hard on Taylor who hasn't lost a game in about 3 seasons. She blocked a penalty kick that got loose and kicked in on the bounce. She has very high expectations of herself and her team and it showed today! I actually think the loss will be good for her...she needs to learn how to handle losing as well as winning!

She bounced back pretty quickly and jumped into her coaching hat to help Scott and Shaylie with their game. I have to say I am really proud of the way she handles her little players. She is always so patient and understanding with them...plus she has a lot to teach them. Scott is doing very well with the team too...the kids are just so young they don't have a great handle on fundamentals yet. But they are definitely improving...Shaylie got her feet on several balls today and they had fun, which I think is the MOST IMPORTANT PART!!

We spent the afternoon shopping and having fun with the girls, since it was Priesthood session of conference. We found a cute outfit for Taylor for Easter. She is playing her flute in church, while I sing, that Sunday. Now she'll be gorgeous too!

All in all today turned out to be a good day!

Happy April!

April Fools' Day was almost uneventful...I was thinking I would get away without any pranks, until I got into bed last night and discovered that Shaylie had Short-sheeted my bed! Usually Scott is the first one in bed, but last night I beat him and so I was the lucky one!! Shaylie was pretty excited this morning when I told her she got me! I think she'd been planning it for a while. Little stinker!

April is also Taylor's Birthday Month....she will be 13 this year.....I can't believe it! An actual TEENAGER...I hope we all survive it. ;) Seriously though, I am not dreading it at all. She is such a great girl...we love everything about her...and these coming years are going to be so much fun. I'm more worried about me than her...just hope I don't make too many mistakes! I think both our girls will grow up to be Awesome despite their parents involvement.

Soccer is still in full swing...we have games pretty much every Saturday until the middle of May...so if you're interested in coming down and checking out some of the crazy soccer action, you won't be sorry! 70 and sunny by the weekend....it beats snow anyday of the week!

Let's see what other news...Scott's still excited about his T-trak modules...He's getting written up in another paper about his work...the lady who invented the T-trak has asked Scott to write up an article for her monthly newsletter. So more kudos to him!

The annual Kite Festival is coming up and I think they are setting up trains there too. Not to mention the girls always love this event.

I'm busy, busy, with work, camp, soccer, life! Can't wait for summer...only two short months away and I'm trying to keep a very positive attitude about the future. I'm looking at some options but no decisions made as of yet.

Hope everything is great wherever you are!