Fishing

YAY!! It is spring time again!! We celebrated the warmer weather by going up North and taking the kids fishing. It was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside enjoying good company and good food.
Cody even decided to take a little swim in the stream. Actually, he fell head first into a stream but who cares about the details!! Scared me to death but he survived. We fished him out and changed his clothes. That is why he is wearing girly pants with a star on the pocket. I am happy to report that the experience did not slow him down a bit!!
Cooper has gotten really good at fishing. He sat very patiently waiting for his fish. He even baits his own hook. I hate to admit it but we have another fisherman on our hands. I feel bad for his future wife!!

Our Little Easter Bunny

Friday night I was babysitting my friend's kids and we were outside playing and all of a sudden a kid yelled "Hey, there is a bunny in your backyard!" We went running to the back and sure enough there it was scared to death and had no idea where to run for safety! It managed to get out of the backyard and into our garage. Our neighbor, Steven, noticed we were chasing something so he came running. The guys eventually caught the rabbit and took it to the backyard. That poor bunny was now our pet!
Taylor blocked off every possible escape route. Steven put the bunny back on the ground and he immediately started running. We had all the neighborhood kids under the age of 10 in our backyard chasing that poor animal around our yard. I am really surprised that it did not die of a heart attack!! We brought it some food and water. The kids were so excited to have a new little friend. When we woke up Saturday morning the bunny was gone. We have no idea what happened to it, there is no way it escaped. We looked everywhere but it disappeared. The kids were so sad and disappointed. Later I asked Taylor what he thought happened to the bunny and his explanation was that an owl or cat must have come in and got it!! We chose not to tell the kids daddy's theory!!

Easter/Birthday Party in AZ

We went back to AZ to spend Easter and Cooper's birthday with family. First of all I have to say that it was quite warm. Our bodies have definitely adjusted to Albuquerque weather because even 75 degrees feels warm to us.
Easter was so fun with the kids this year. Grandma Cathy (Taylor's mom) really gets into holidays, I love that about her.

She ended up coloring 36 eggs with the kids, she is very brave and I was grateful that I did not have to do it!!
On Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party with my family for Cooper and my niece Amber. Since it was so "nice" outside we went to the park and played wiffle ball. It was so much fun!! Cooper and Amber had a good party and got lots of fun toys!


Sunday was started rather early when the kids ran out to the family room and noticed that the Easter Bunny had come. All of the adults were still in bed so nobody was watching over what the kids were doing or whose basket they were rummaging through. Grandma Cathy walked in the room just as one of the kids was holding up a rather large pair of swim trunks. The kids were so happy and excited, little did they know that they were going through Granddad's basket and those were his swim trunks. I thought it was funny because they did not even care what was in the basket they were just so happy to look through it. Later that night we had a big Easter dinner with the rest of the family and celebrated yet again Cooper's birthday.


Whenever I go back I get sad to come home because I realize how nice it would be to live near family. Not only for their company but also for their help with our children. Both our families are so good at stepping in and helping when things get out of control. Cooper and Natalie had a great time with their cousins and i truly miss having my siblings around!

AAHHH!!!

I am so behind on posting!! I feel overwhelmed!! Taylor took my camera cord to work with him last week so I have not been able to download any pictures off of my camera. I keep reminding him to bring it home and of course he keeps forgetting. I have major events that have ocurred in my life this last week and I can't record them until I have pictures!! Honey, bring home my cord!!!!!

Playing Catch Up

My Baby turned 5 months old last week...all I can say is Holy Cow, where did the time go?? He is growing way too fast!! He is now 14 lbs. 10 oz. and is 26 inches long. Which makes him a little tall and skinny. He laughs out loud all the time at the kids, he started rolling over a few weeks ago, and he loves his mom!! I tried rice cereal with him a couple of weeks ago and he seemed to really like it. I am crossing my fingers that it will help him sleep longer at night but so far it has not made a difference. I am so grateful to have little Eli in our family. And although he is a bit more cranky than my other children were I still think he is adorable and I love him with all my heart. I can't wait for him to get older and bigger so he can play ball with his brothers!!

Weekly Update

There is not much exciting news from this neck of the woods.
Taylor worked like a dog this past week. I think there was only one day that he got home in time to help put kids down to bed. I had a great week with the kids though. I made a goal to not have the TV on at all during the day. I find it amazing how many conversations I had with the kids and I got to spend good quality time with them. I hope it lasts because these last few days have been so pleasant. Hopefully my goal will carry on to Taylor....he will be a tough one!!
The weather has been nice, we actually got to go outside to play a couple of afternoons without having to wear gloves and a jacket. Spring time here we come. I am soooooo ready!!
Saturday I woke up early (what was I thinking?)and went to Wal-Mart for groceries. It was kind of nice to shop early when you don't have to play bumper carts with fellow moms and senior citizens! It felt like I had the whole store to myself. When I got home Taylor left to go fishing. I know, I am a good wife! Cooper headed to his 3 hour baseball practice (a little extensive in my opinion) and I took the other 3 to the park where they were having a Spring Fiesta. Unfortunately, it was really windy and the kids were cranky so we did not stay very long. We went to the baseball fields to watch the rest of Cooper's practice. I got there just in time to watch him hit in the batting cage. I am very proud of him, he has grown and improved tremendously since last fall. I can't wait for his games to start. All you Grandparents need to come see him play!! Saturday night after Taylor got home we went to Sally's Beauty Supply and I bought hair dye. Since I colored it last it has faded a lot so I am going to attempt to do it myself. I will keep you posted on how it turns out.
Sunday I had to stay home from church because Eli now has a runny nose and a cough. It may be allergies from being out all day Saturday. We will have to wait and see what develops. He also got sunburned because I did not realize that even though the temperature is not hot, the sun can still burn you! I am a dork. I feel really bad about it, he now has the nickname Lobster!! I kept Cody home too, no need to make Taylor go with all 3 kids by himself. So, since I only had 2 kids home I decided to take advantage and do some housecleaning. I feel bad now, I should not have done so much on Sunday but I was DESPERATE!
Now a new week begins. We have school, doctor's apps, baseball practice, field trips and more laundry to get done. I have to get everything prepared for Easter before Friday because we are headed to AZ to spend it with family. Hope everyone has a good week and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Baby Shower Weekend

Parents to be. Marlene and Ben

Karen and Eli

My siblings. Marlene, Karen, Glen, Tracy and me

Eli with Marlene

Uncle Glen and Eli

Aunt Karen, Amber and Eli

My mom and I

Eli

Last weekend Eli and I flew to AZ for my sister's baby shower. I can't even tell you how nice it was to only have 1 child with me even though he is the one that requires the most attention. I really appreciate Taylor playing Mr. Mom and allowing me to go support my family.
The trip started off a little rough. First of all since when did Southwest not allow moms with children to board the airplane first? We had to wait until after line A was called. So as you can imagine I did not get a very good seat. Luckily I found a Grandma so I knew she would be patient. About 2 seconds after we boarded Eli decides to EXPLODE in his diaper. It was one of those explosions that don't even land in the diaper but all over his back and legs instead. Unfortunately, we were about to take off so I could not change him right away. He had to sit in it for about 10 minutes and I had to hold him away from me so that I did not get "mustard poop" all over my clothes. When we leveled off I laid him on the seat next to me and gave him a good wipe down and changed his clothes.
When I arrived in Phoenix, Cathy (Taylor's mom) and I met up for lunch. Eli was an angel the whole time. Then I went back to my mom's house to help prepare for the shower. My mom came to the realization that when us sisters are together NOTHING gets accomplished. We are too busy laughing and playing around and can't stay focused.
The baby shower was so cute. I am so anxious for Marlene to have sweet little Reagan. I can't wait to meet her. Her and Ben will be such great parents!!
The flight home was more of a disaster than the flight there. Eli screamed bloody murder for the first ten minutes (which felt like eternity). I could sense everyones eyes on me. All the business men were about to push me out the window! The stuartist even came over to me and asked if I needed water for a bottle. Little does she know he does not drink bottles. I attempted to nurse him, of course that did not work, so I just held him tight and let him scream. The woman next to me asked if she could hold him and let him look out the window. I sighed in relief and gladly handed him over to her. He immediately stopped crying and fell asleep. I was so happy when the plane hit the pavement. FREEDOM!
All in all I had a great trip and lots of memories with my family. Thanks Tay!!

George Strait Concert

For my birthday Taylor got me George Strait concert tickets. YAY! Only one problem.....who was going to watch the kids?? I was so nervous about leaving Eli because he does not take a bottle very well. Well my friend Heather came to the rescue and offered to watch the kids at our house so they could still go to bed on time and Eli would be comfortable.
Taylor and I had a great time and I did not have to worry because I knew that the kids were in good hands. George was awesome, he sang at least 20 songs. It was great!

I DID IT!!

I finally took the plunge and got my hair colored! When I first got home last night Natalie said, "You don't look like my mom, what did you do with my mom?"
I absolutely love the color for now but eventually I want to go a little darker. We had to start out lighter so it would not be such a shock to me and to my hair. I took these pictures by myself so be forgiving of the off-centeredness, (is that a word?).

THE BIG 27!!!

Sunday was my birthday. I can't believe that I am 27 years old already. Just 10 years ago I was still in high school.
My day started great...Taylor cooked me my favorite breakfast, French Toast and bacon. Then he made a cake. Ha ha. For those of you that know Taylor pretty well you will know that he has NEVER made a cake. It turned out great...a little crispy on the edges. He did not read the small print and he set the temperature too hot. But it was still the best cake I have ever had because he made it for me!! Then we headed off to church. When we got home we opened presents. I got tickets to go to the George Strait concert this Thursday! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! My kids and husband are so awesome and they made me feel so special. I guess getting old isn't too bad!!

BOWLING

Last Thursday night we took some friends and our kids bowling to celebrate Cody's huge potty accomplishment. The kids really enjoyed themselves. It was fun to watch them literally throw the ball half way down the lane. Cody would just drop it in front of him and it would take about 5 minutes for it to eventually make it to the pins. I loved watching them....well, the parts I did get to see. It seemed like I was taking kids potty or changing a diaper about every 5 minutes!
My friend Heather put us all to shame. She was amazing and even beat the guys!! I think next time we go we will only take adults so we can get competitive!!