Alldredge Family

6 months old

2011-12-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

How can an entire month have gone by so quickly. This girl is already half a year old. She is just getting to be more and more fun. Just a few highlights from the past month...

*Just after I posted her 5 month post, she got her first tooth. She normally isn't cranky, but those teeth coming through really doesn't feel too good so we had an emotional couple of weeks. Not too long after, the second tooth appeared so she has her two bottom teeth now and is much happier these days.

*She laughs for no reason at all and she has this laugh that is kinda crazy. It sounds like a cross between a hacking sound and a laugh. It is low and in her throat and it just cracks Aaron and I up. Still if anyone is going to make her laugh it would be Taylee. Emberley just looks at her a special way and you just know she thinks her big sister is so so cool.

*She has gotten herself on a really good schedule this past month. She wakes up the same time as Tay does for school (usually) then goes down for a morning nap around 9, sleeps till 11, eats, plays, eats, sleeps again around 2, sleeps till 4 or 5, eats, plays, goes to bed for the night around 7:30 or 8. Life is good on a schedule.

*She still only rolls from her tummy to her back and doesn't sit up yet. Hmmm maybe I hold my babies too much!

*She started jabbering. She says ya-ya-ya, da-da-da-da-da, ga-ga-ga. It is so fun cause when I talk back to her she smiles at me so big, in fact she smiles so easily it just melts me.

*She is getting so good at holding things and grabbing things. She loves jewelry and anything else small enough to suck on and can entertain herself for a little while playing with things. She is always soaking wet cause she is sucking on something all the time. She is just growing and changing so much I wish it would just slow down!

Sister fun!

5 Months Old

2011-11-11T15:06:00.001-08:00

Emberley Ilene was five months old on the 9th! I am so totally in love with this little sweetie and I can tell her daddy is too. Funny how you don't know what your missing, but then they come and you can't imagine your family with out them.

Here are some new things she has started to do in the past few months...

*she laughs much more often and with much less effort from us. Taylee gets her cracking up the most by doing the same random thing over and over and Emberley thinks she is just hilarious.

*she has gotten lots more grabby. She wants anything she can get her hands on and then like a typical baby, once she has it, it goes right to her mouth. So obviously she is liking baby toys now and chews, sucks and naws on everything.

*she is still loving that binky and so am I!

*most nights she sleeps through the night, goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 and sleeps till 7 or 8 in the morning.

*the other day I was at Lacey's with Bonnie and I told Bonnie to put her on her stomach. I then made a comment about how my almost 5 month old hasn't rolled over yet and not one minute after I said that, she rolled over. Rolled like it was no big thing, like she has been doing it for a while, except she hasn't. Now she is a rolling pro. (well from tummy to back). Funny girl.

*she likes jumping in her bouncy chair and is happiest when someone is looking at her and talking to her.

*she has gotten very aware of voices, especially her daddy's. If he comes in the room and starts talking she looks around till she finds him. It's cute except when I'm trying to feed her!

*she eats rice cereal once a day and does really well now eating. She loves sticking her fingers in her mouth while I feed her and will start to laugh almost every time which results in her food spitting out. I gave her a french fry to suck on the other day and man did she love that.

*no teeth yet and her mommy is happy about that!

*she is a happy girl and such a good baby. She even will snuggle me when she gets tired which is the best. Her little smile melts me!

Brad Paisley Here I Come!

2011-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

I had a great b-day this past week. I got lots of company to come play with me. We partied all week-end playing games, eating good snacks and staying up way past my bed time.

Saturday night we went out to Stockmans...

Andy's present to me was eating an entire cow... (all in 6 bites)

YUM!

Sunday was my actual b-day and Bonnie and Aaron made me a great dinner and then Lacey and her fam came over with my cake. Monday Lacey had Bonnie and I over for a birthday lunch. I felt well loved!

Then on monday Tay took me bowling and even let me win!

Aaron really spoiled me and got me tickets to the Brad Paisley concert in Salt Lake. The Band Perry and Scotty McCreary are performing too. What a sweet guy I have, I cant wait!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh Nuh..... BATGIRL!

Halloween is always a little bit of a challenge because I have a daughter that wants to be things that are totally boy and not only that, but things that require her head to be covered so no one would know it was a girl underneath at all. Maybe I should be a mom that doesn't care, but I at least wanted a compromise. So batgirl makes her happy while still looking like a girl.

Strike a pose girl!

I have to say this is actually one of my favorite costumes cause she looks so stinkin' cute!

Our trunk or treat this year was on Saturday so here we are waiting to get going. Emberley was going to be a ballerina, but it was too cold.

Taylee and one of her best buddies, Coulson.

Checkin out the haul of candy!

On Halloween day Tay got to wear her costume to school, but she has AM kindy so we had to fill the rest of the day with something Halloweeny so we made cookies. We have had so much fun having Bonnie here with us, Taylee (and me) will be sad when she has to go home.

Emberley having a good time just hanging out...

That night we went to Lacey's so Tay could trick-or-treat with her cousins. My girls waiting on the boys...

A cute little ladybug was getting excited too...

Ready to go...

Another fun Halloween.

(We did carve pumpkins, but didn't get any pics this year)

How You Know You Live in the Country...

2011-11-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, just a random flock of sheep hanging out in our backyard... not much else to say.

Visitors!

2011-11-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

A couple week-ends ago Aaron's brother Danny and his family came to visit and we had a good time hanging out. Taylee and Addi's personalities are like night and day, but they do pretty good playing together as long as Taylee doesn't get too intense! We love having company and hope they will come back often.

Eating at Craigos makes everyone happy...

Two little cousins, Will and Emberley. Poor girl is absolutely surrounded by boy cousins on both sides. Will is about a month older and Micah and Nancy (Aaron's other bro) just had a little guy, Eli, a few weeks ago so thats two on the Alldredge side. Then Lacey had her twins so that is two on my side. She will have to work hard to keep up with all these little guys!

Back to the straw maze for an a"maze"ing time!!

Makay, Will and Danny

Eating and the Twins

2011-11-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

So on October 11, Lacey's twin boys arrived. Both healthy and strong! She named them Kolby and Kessler. Of course we had many trips to the hospital to see them...

Brynlee, Taylee and Kolby (I think)

Proud Cousin

Emberley started eating rice cereal. She wasn't sure she liked it at first, but now she gobbles the stuff down!

Yum, Yum!

All About Emberley

2011-10-01T16:16:00.001-07:00

Man this girl is growing up way too fast. I can't believe she is almost 4 months. Of course life right now does feel like it is all about Emberley. When will she need to eat, nap, change diapers and a whole-lot of holding. Such is life with a little baby. We love love love her and I can't help snapping pictures of this little chunky monkey!!

If you don't have a bumbo you need one. She has been able to sit in this thing since she was only 2 months old. She likes to be up looking around and this seat allows her to do just that. Thanks to my V.T. for letting us use it, I will definately be purchasing my own.

We were trying to get a shot of the thighs on this girl, but this pic just doesn't quite do them justice!! You just wanna squeeze them!

So so tired...

We were watching conference today and Emberley was perfectly happy in her jumper chair, in fact she was staring at the TV for a long time. Then I looked over and she had fallen asleep standing up. Poor little thing, I took a pic and then moved her somewhere more comfortable.

We really are enjoying her so much. Love you Emberley!

Straw Maze

2011-10-01T16:06:00.001-07:00

Last week-end Andy and Molly came to visit. On Saturday we went out to a straw maze near by and as you can see, Taylee had a good time playing in the straw. Apparently Andy tried having fun too, but after falling straight on his back (thinking it would be soft enough) got the wind knocked out of him, so we left the jumping up to Taylee.

Andy, Aaron and Tay, Molly

Someone was all smiles!

Molly is like the coolest aunt. She spends so much of her time playing with Taylee that I have to remind Taylee that Molly is my friend too and needs to be able to play with me and daddy some of the time....

This is a pretty big maze and is done well. It had cool tunnels and long dead-ends. We had a good time.

Taylee's 5th Birthday

2011-09-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Taylee's birthday this year was a little different. Aaron was going to be gone on her actual birthday so the Sat. before we went to Rexburg Rapids and Ryker and Conner joined us. I think they had a great time swimming and floating the lazy river.

I told her she couldn't have a party with friends EVERY year so this year she decided to have Ryker and Conner come for a sleep over. They stayed up late watching movies, eating treats and playing. They woke up Sat morning and it was Tay's real b-day. We had a yummy breakfast and then opened presents.

Emberley joining the party...

Taylee got spoiled again. Thanks to grama, gram and cousins for the gifts.

Including this one. LOL! Capt. Jack Sparrow in the house!

Looks even better with princess skates!

After presents we went to the water park to play for a few hours. Taylee got hurt and spent a big chunk of her time too afraid to get wet cause she didn't want her band-aid to fall off, crazy girl, go have fun!!

And eventually she did...

On Sunday we went to Lacey's for our family party and to have cake and ice cream. Yes, our patriotic child wanted an American Flag cake. Don't ask me why she likes the flag so much, but I can't complain, this was the easiest cake iv'e made in years and the kids had fun helping decorate it.

Blowing out the candles.

We got Aaron on the phone to help us sing.

Taylee is an awesome little girl. I would never have imagined getting a girl quite like her, but I wouldn't trade her for anything. She is such a good girl who tries so hard to do what is right and be obedient. She likes order and follows rules to the T. She makes us laugh a lot and I'm so glad that she is healthy and happy and in our family. Happy Birthday girly!

Big Kindergartner Here!!

2011-09-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Taylee's feelings about starting school have been a little up and down. Mostly up all summer, she has said she was so excited, but then we went in for registration and she saw how big the school was and she started getting cold feet. We had lots of talks and I reassured her she would love it and when the first day came she was ready to go. Taylee takes a little while to warm up to new things, she always has, but she put on her bravest face and woke up that morning really happy and excited to go.

We documented lots cause daddy was out of town...

Backpack shot...

Catching the bus! She just had to ride the bus, and I wanted her to also so she could know the routine. So she hopped on and Emb and I got in the car to meet her at school.

She got a little confused getting off, she wasn't sure where to go exactly, but there were teachers everywhere helping. This teacher here and the principal are in our ward. Not only that, but all the bigger kids know Tay from Primary and they look out for her. They sit by her on the bus and help her know where to go, its awesome!

All kids and parents to the playground first! They are actually getting a brand new all access playground which sounds super nice.

Then they called everyone into the gym for a welcome assembly. Teachers came to round up all the kindergartners. This is Tay with her friend Evelyn from church. They are in the same class.

They called them up one by one, class by class to line up and go to their room. Glad kindergarten went first! By this point, she was fine, a little nervous I could tell, but ready to be on her own.

I snuck a peek in her room on my way out. Tay is way over at the red table. I waved to her one more time and then went home. Emberley napped most of the time and I cleaned up, got ready and then it was time to pick her up again. She said she had a great day and every day since then she has come home more and more excited and comfortable. Her teacher is named Mrs. Hill and she is only like 23. She seems like a good fit for Tay. It was crazy to be sending her to school, how can she be that old?! We miss her while she is away, but I'm glad I put her in, she needed something of her own to do with a new sister here and is learning lots already.

Party at the Park

2011-09-15T15:45:00.001-07:00

Here in Rexburg every year the day before school starts they have this huge party in the park. They bring in tons of blow up toys, have carousel rides, cotton candy, popcorn, popsicles, trolly rides, dinner, raffles, tons of free-bies all for free for any kid who comes. We went with Lacey and her kids for a little bit and they had a good time.

I couldn't believe Taylee wanted to do this...

She may have lasted 3 sec!!

yee-hah!

And little sweetie here along for the ride

Emberley ~2 1/2 Months

2011-09-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

I love that babies just let you dress them up and take tons of pictures and don't complain one bit. I can't believe how much she is growing and changing, why does it happen so fast!!

She is 3 months right now, but has been doing some fun new things for a little while now.

~She started responsively smiling a while ago, probably around 2 months (my memory stinks)

all you have to do is look at her and smile or start talking to her and she gets the biggest grins that make her entire body move, she gets real into the smiles!

~Sometimes she gets so happy and excited she almost sounds like she is letting out a little laugh, or the beginnings of one, its so so cute.

~She loves Taylee. Tay can calm her down, make her smile and she looks to find her when she hears Taylee talking.

~She is really into sucking the side of her pointer finger or whatever part of her hand she can get in her mouth and sucks loud!!

~She drools which makes me hope she isn't teething already!!

~She is good at putting weight on her legs. We stand her up and she holds strong for a bit.

~She is getting especially good at holding her head up and loves to be up looking around.

~She is like Taylee was in that she isn't real snuggly unless she is sleeping, she is too busy checking things out.

~She coos and baby talks, its fun to see how long we can keep her going.

~She goes to bed around 9pm and sleeps a good 6-8hrs. before needing to eat, then eats and goes back to sleep for another 3-4hrs.

~At her last check-up (she was 3 months) she weighed 12lbs 7oz. and was like 26 inches long (?)

(her weight was in the 70th %, height 60th % and head 40th %)

Love the smiles

And the feet!

Two quick trips

2011-08-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

A few week-ends ago we headed to Wa cause it was check-up time for Tay. We only got to spend one short day at my parents and then half the next day at the hospital and then the last day at Aaron's parents. It was a short trip, but a good one. Everything checked out fine like usual with Taylee and then she got to spend the rest of her week-end playing at Grams.

I'd been hearing the weather hadn't been too good in Washington this summer, but this Saturday was gorgeous. Everyone spent time in the lake and it was nice to just sit outside. This was Emberley and I hanging out watching everyone swim.

Patsy made us a yummy lunch and almost all of Aaron's siblings were there. Only missing two brothers.

Aunt Nancy getting ready for her second little guy to come. She was great, she held Emberley a ton for me!!

Taylee loved swimming in the lake, she even jumped off the dock, but the best part was once she got too cold she could warm up in Papa's hot tub! She got to play with Ammon, Noah and Joel. We sure missed Addi and Isaac and little Will...

Papa going for a boat ride...

Spending some quality time with Gram...

Sorry about the shadows... Emberley with her Gram and Papa.

Poor Molly can hardly get a second to herself when Taylee is around. Geese Molly, why do you have to be so cool!!!

A couple week-ends later I got an itch to get out of the house and go somewhere we haven't been before so we packed some food and the car and went on a day trip to Henry's lake. Little did we know that if you don't have property on Henry's lake or a boat, there isn't really much to do. So we drove around the lake and hit up some other familiar stops like Big Springs and Mesa Falls.

Little miss here did so good being in the car all day!!

Big Springs = Big mosquitoes

And one more pic of Emby (that's what her dad calls her)

FHE at the lake

2011-07-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Monday was such a hot day that at 6 when Aaron got home and it was still 90 degrees out we decided to pack up some sandwiches and head to the lake. This is the perfect lake for kids cause it doesn't get any deeper then Tay's waist so she can play and I don't have to worry.

She was one happy camper!

Emberley just slept most of the time, it was nice.

So I was helping Taylee build a sandcastle, but when we were done it apparently wasn't what she had in mind so she called in the pro to help her out.

Ok and I have promised both gramas I would post or send pictures of Emberley often, but honestly why is it when you have a new baby you can't pick just one cause they are all so stinkin cute...... to the mom anyway!!

Last time at the Dr. she was reaching 9lbs. and she is totally getting a little chub in her cheeks and thighs. So cute!

Soccer Girl

2011-07-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come that Taylee gets to play soccer. She has been waiting for her chance ever since we first started watching her cousin Ryker play and this summer it came. She takes it seriously and plays hard.

Mom's fault, I don't know much about soccer, but quickly learned the shin guards go under the socks... but she looks pretty cute anyways huh?!

She is the only girl on her team and one of the smallest out there, but she runs the entire time and stays where the ball is and gets some pretty good kicks in. Most importantly, she LOVES it. She asks "how many days till soccer" and when it is a day for a game she gets her soccer clothes on that morning and can't hardly wait till after dinner when the games are.

She scored her first goal last week (which is hard to do when most games you are playing against 7 yr olds that are way bigger then you), but this game was more evenly matched and she scored. I am glad she has something that is hers to do with a new baby around.

Emberley's Blessing

2011-07-20T09:06:00.001-07:00

In the middle of such a crazy fun week-end Aaron blessed Emberley. It was so nice to have so many uncles and a grampa here to be a part of it. It was a very special day. I am so grateful to have a husband who holds the priesthood and is able to bless our new little girl and our family. The blessing was beautiful and so was the rest of that day.

It's fun to say we are now a family of four!

Grama and Grampa

The rest of this day was filled with good food and family. We had a nice dinner and then went and had some pictures taken of all of us together. Thanks again everyone for coming.

4th of July Week-end

2011-07-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Man, this is going to be quite the post! For 4th of July week-end every one of my siblings and their spouses and their kids were able to come to Rexburg. We haven't all been together in a very long time and it was so so cool to get to celebrate one of my favorite holidays with so much family and so many cousins around for Taylee to be with. My amazing sister Lacey housed most of the company and we were able to have a great mini family reunion.

Taylee and Quinton

By Saturday everyone had arrived. We were going to go hang out at the lake for the afternoon, but by the time lunch was over the kids were having such a good time playing and having a water fight with Uncle Aaron that we just stuck around the house. That evening we went to Lacey's for hot dogs and hamburgers and root beer floats. I don't think the kids cared where we were. As long as they had each other to play with they were perfectly happy.

Broden, Ellie, Brynlee, Holland and Jacey.

Some of these kids hadn't even met before and others it had just been way too long. It was fun to have Tiff's kids back for a week-end, kinda like old times.

Emberley and Grama

With all these visitors Emberley didn't spend much time on her own. Now that everyone is gone I am paying the price! She loves to be held...a lot.

Grampa and Uncle Brent teasing Conner...

Jacey and Ellie -two cutie patooties!

Ryker, Lily and Conner

Now I know it doesn't look like they are enjoying this, but it was super cute. Grama got them all fun tutu's from Costco and we got them all dressed up together. We unfortunately had a few sick girls that didn't feel to well, but were forced in this picture anyway!

All the girlies minus Sadie and Emberley.

Brynlee, Holland, Abby, Lily, Jacey, Taylee and Ellie

Oh now she thinks skirts are cool... Hallelujah! We must need more girl cousins around here!

Sunday we blessed Emberley. I will post that separately.

Monday was the 4th and this year we actually staked out our parade spot the night before. As we were driving home from Lacey's we noticed that some people had already put their chairs out and with a group this big we didn't want to take the chance so Aaron, my dad and Brent took our chairs and found us a primo spot.

Dan and Jenni

Holland and Brynlee waiting for the fun to start.

Tiff and Emberley

Conner, Taylee and Jacey

Bags ready for all that candy!

Quinton and Emberley

Weiland, Tay, Lily and Ellie. Still waiting...

Lots of the gang.

Jacey's turn!

Taylee wasn't quite as fast as some of the bigger kids so dad had to come help out to make sure she got some candy.

Brent, Ang and Abby. They got to stay with us and it was so nice to have them. Everyone made such an effort to come and I am so grateful to all of them for traveling so far to be together.

After the parade we went home gather ALL the stuff we needed for the rest of the day and headed out to the pond.

The big boys.

Everyone watching the kids swim.

Time for the water fight. Grama bought all her grandkids squirt guns and the had a great time squirting each other, but especially Grampa and their dads.

Going for a paddle boat ride.

We had yummy food and snacks all day and later that night we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows and watch they guys light off fireworks. I was so tired by this point that I have no nighttime pics. Once again we had another great 4th, I'd say one of our best!

To be continued...

2011-07-18T21:02:00.001-07:00

Ok I have another few minutes to post a little more from our weeks with company and visitors. These first few pics are from the weeks Aaron's fam was still here.

I love having two girls, sisters are the best - I would know!

Brynlee had to come over and get her Emberley fix. If there is anyone out there who could rival Taylee in their love for Emberley, it's Brynlee. It makes me happy to see how much she adores her. When she gets her hands on her she doesn't want to let go, I love it!

I just have to mention how SPOILED this girl got with both her Gram and Grama here. Aaron's mom gave Taylee a present every day she was here including the super cute outfit she has on. I think it was quite a let down when everyone finally had to go.

I love this picture. Emberley hanging out with Aunt Bonnie.

Ammon, Taylee and Noah

The last of our Alldredge visitors were Aaron's brother Nathan and his two boys. They stopped by on their drive back from Arizona. They were only here about a day, but we sure loved having them and for Taylee to get to hang out with more cousins.

Father's Day rolled around and we are out enjoying Aaron's Father's Day present as a fam.

The day after Aaron's family left my mom came into town and the spoiling of both me and Taylee continued!

More sister pics...

Dressed up for our first try of church. We made it through sacrament meeting!

Remember how I mentioned spoiled.... Taylee got an early birthday present from Grama, a new bike! Now if we could just get her to not be a big chicken and ride it...

One last picture of Emberley (well last for now)!

Emberley is here!!

2011-07-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Our sweet, perfect, beautiful baby girl arrived on June 9th. She weighed 6lbs. 14oz. and was 18in. long. Everything went fine, fast actually and we are all so so happy she is here and healthy!

We named her Emberley Ilene...

Helped arrived very quickly. Aaron's mom and sister came and stayed for almost two weeks. Thank goodness because I had a lot of up and down days and don't know what I would have done with out the help! Emberley is only grand daughter number 3 on the Alldredge side, everyone keeps having boys!

Taylee absolutely LOVES her new sister. She has been waiting and waiting for her and can't hold her, tickle her or kiss her enough!

Tay is also a huge help! One of the benefits I am finding to having such a large gap between kids. Getting diapers, holding her, distracting her, its great!

1st bath...

Sleeping with daddy...

We got to see more of Aaron's family. Danny and Makay recently moved to Utah so they were close enough to come for a quick visit. Andy showed up too after his semester ended at BYU.

Taylee was thrilled to have cousins to play with. Addi and Taylee having ice cream together...

We were so excited to meet our newest little nephew Will. He is only about a month older then Emberley.

Two proud big sisters!

Can't find a better place to sleep then with daddy.

We had lots more visitors and I will post more about all that soon!

Easter 2011

2011-07-17T20:33:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty traditional Easter this year complete with an Easter egg hunt, egg dying and the search for the special surprise left by the Easter bunny. This year we went to Fat Cats (the movie theater here) and did their hunt. It was especially nice because it was indoors and it had the chance to win free stuff inside the eggs like movie tickets or bowling. We were not that lucky, but Taylee was happy just to have a bag full of candy.

Taylee, Conner, Ryker and Avery waiting for their turn to hunt...
Going for it!

Very pregnant me!!!

Then we moved on to Lacey's for some egg dying.

Finding her basket Easter morning...

Unfortunatly I somehow did not get a picture of her in her beautiful Easter dress or any pics of all the company we had with us. Aaron's mom and dad and brother and sisters were with us and we spent a great week with them. Aaron's parents worked hard for me all week making curtains and putting up chair railings in the girl's rooms.... pics to come!

It's a.....

2011-02-23T12:11:00.001-08:00

So we have been waiting and waiting to find out what this little baby is inside me, I am 6 months pregnant after all and we actually went in like two weeks ago, but our modest little thing would not open its legs. We were in there for like 45min and the nurse kept going back and trying to see. She poked and jiggled my belly trying to get this little baby to move, but at first its little feet were crossed and then it had one leg on top of the other and would not cooperate. I was not giving up, I was expecting to stay there and thought there was no way I was actually not going to be able to know what we were having until finally the nurse said "so how do you feel about it being a surprise". Uh, not good was my first thought and after asking what else we could do, they were nice enough to let me come back in last week. So the big result is... ITS A GIRL!! Taylee was a little grumpy at first as she had her mind set on a brother, but after a little talking about what a great big sister she would be she is happy now, but still hopeful for a boy next time. Aaron and I are both thrilled and are so happy to be saying she instead of it!!

Valentines and a Very Happy Birthday

2011-02-23T11:46:00.000-08:00

Preschool has been so great for Taylee this year. She is learning a lot and gets to do all sorts of fun things when holidays roll around. This year for Valentine's Day they had a fancy Tea Party and everyone had to dress up and bring Valentine's to share.

Of course Taylee's Valentines of choice were.... Toy Story. She had a great time and looked so cute!

Aaron's birthday came on a Saturday this year and I had quite the surprise for his big 3-0!! He didn't get to actually do it though till the next week-end so we went ice skating during the day. Taylee had been begging to go all winter and Aaron really wanted to take her.

It was a challenge to even get her to think she could stand up, let alone skate, although I was not used to hockey skates and had a hard time too.

Luckily she had a good Daddy that held her up the entire time. I was impressed though cause it was hard and she stayed so happy and when she fell down she got right back up and wanted to go back out on the ice.

Although a bit ridiculous to skate with a four year old, we had a great time.

Later that night we went to dinner with Brad and Lacey.

Sunday we had a yummy dinner and had the requested brownies for dessert.

(count the 30 candles... just have to rub it in a little)

They real Happy Birthday was sending Aaron on a trip with his brothers and his dad. He got to go to Leavenworth in Washington and stay in a nice place and hang out with his brothers. He had such a great time so a big thank you to all his brothers and his dad for taking time off to celebrate with Aaron! Happy Birthday babe!

Quinton's Baptism

2011-02-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

Quinton is the first of any of my neices and nephews to get baptized and I loved that we got to be there for his special day before they took off.

Cousins!!

Not the greatest picture, but its what we could get!!

Because Tiff's house was pretty much all packed up, everyone came over here for a yummy lunch and to celebrate a little with Quinton. Isn't he so handsome!

Opening some special presents...

Eating with the cousins.

This was a bittersweet day. We were so so proud of Quinton for making such a good choice to be baptized, but so sad knowing that the next day they would be gone...

The proud parents...

Thank you Quinton for being such a good example for Taylee and for all of us!

Happy Valentines from Taylee

2011-02-14T13:27:00.001-08:00

We weren't able to get Valentines in the mail this year, but decided that it wasn't too late for Taylee to tell all her cousins and grandparents who are far away how much she loves them. So the following are personalized Valentines for each of them. We love you all!

TO: THE CRABTREES

1st heart: to Holland, 2nd heart: to Weiland, 3rd heart: to Quinton, card: to Ellie

TO: THE SILLITO'S
Outsides of cards- left is for Lily, right for Abby.

Insides- top for Lily, bottom for Abby

TO: GRAMA AND GRAMPA SILLITO

Pink for grama, blue for grampa

TO: THE SILLITO'S

Top for Jacey, bottom for Broden, and Saide we love you too!

Inside of Jacey's

TO: ALLDREDGE BOYS

Left for Ammon (notice the A!), right for Noah.

TO: GRAM AND PAPA ALLDREDGE

Green for Papa, purple for Gram.

TO: THE ALLDREDGE'S

Left for Addi, right for Isaac

TO: ALLDREDGE'S

For little Joel!

Happy Valentines from Taylee!

(We love the Neilson's too, they just got their own Valentines since they live by us!!)

Sleepover with Ellie

2011-02-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

We had to have Ellie over one more time for a sleepover before she moved away. She is one of Taylee's very best friends and we have loved having her here so much.

We decided to eat out at Craigos and the girls just giggled and giggled and had a great time. We miss you already Ellie girl!

Its Cruise Time!!

2011-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

So I will try and keep the typing short since there are tons of pictures. We went on the Mexican Riviera cruise with my parents and all my siblings and their spouses. We had a wonderful time and a big thank you to my mom for spoiling us.

On the plane to California. We got there a day early and spent some time with Spencer and Debbie.

They were nice enough to pick us up at the airport and show us around town. First stop was a place on the side of the road called Pinks. It is famous for these humungo hot dogs and the line is all the way down the street so it must be good!!

These suckers were huge! But really good (according to Aaron) I got a hamburger...
They took us to see the stars in Hollywood along with that famouse theatre where they premiere new movies. Then we went to the observatory that looks over L.A. We had such a good time hanging out and so appreciate them shutteling us around.

Waiting to get on the boat. It took a while for everyone to get there, but a bunch of family and no kids to watch makes up for the wait.

Me, Jenni, Ang, Tiff, Lacey and Mom

We had a day at Sea and then the first stop was Cabo. Oh, the dorky boys in my family...

Definatly our favorite stop. It is the cleanest and prettiest by far. The weather was warm and the day was totally relaxing. We just shopped and sat on the beach, it was so nice.

Everyone, but Dad.

Walking the boardwalk. That is our huge ship in the background.

Aaron and Brad testing the water...

Warm enough for the guys to get in...

Next stop Mazatlan. Although not my favorite stop, it was a little better then our last visit where we got dropped off in the middle of scary town and had to walk miles to the tourist area. We knew better this time and quickly found a nice resort to spend the day at. We walked the beach and I was so tempted to parasail, but being prego I didn't think I should. Definatly next time.

Aaron and Dan taking a swim after boogie boarding for a while.

Unfortunatly the weather was cool so it was only a matter of time till we headed back to the boat.

Stop 3 was Puerta Viarta. We hadn't done any real excusions yet so everyone but Todd, Tiff and my parents signed up for one that took you snorkeling, on a hike to a waterfall with a rock slide and then to a private beach to eat. It started off being nice weather and we were excited to do something new...

Everything started out fine, everyone happy...

Then the horrible Mexican music started blarring and the nausea came on and the clouds came in and there was only one worker who spoke English and the boat moved incredibly slow and they didn't have enough snorkel gear so you had to share with no sanitation (we didn't snorkel) and no flippers, and the hike was stinky and poopy (from the horses) and the rock slide was short and dangerous for me to get to, and the boat people told us they couldn't get us back on time..... It went a little downhill, but we made some memories and laughed a lot.

On our lovely hike...

Lacey and Brad (who never want to return to Mexico again!!)...

Ang and Brent...

Doesn't the water look so pretty?

The waterfall was pretty, but no rock sliding for us...

Back on the boat for another 2 days at Sea.

Lacey and Brad all fancied up...

Tiff and Todd...

Dan and Jenni...

Ang and Brent...

Mom and Dad...

Aaron and I.

Aaron showing off one of his 9 lobster tails he ate that evening. Gotta love eating on a cruise!!

I had to add this pic of Todd. he got ahold of my camera and took all sorts of lovely pics of himself. This serves him right!

This is hard to see, but it is Aaron singing karoke. He mentioned he kinda wanted to do it for fun this time and I was proud of him cause he did it and with a huge crowd of people.

Some of the cool towel art!! Later we found out our maid thought Aaron and I were teenagers as well as Lacey and Brad and was shocked when she learned we were married with kids!

The weather was cool on the way back up to Ca. so we spent a lot of time exploring the ship. This is in the kids area arcade.

Lacey and Jenni waiting to go eat at Johnny Rockets on the boat. We were so lucky and got 75 dollars to use on the boat so one of the last days we ate here.

Playing games...

Eating at our huge table. I love that they got us all together!

All the girls...

All the guys...

Aaron partying hard...

More eating!!

Lacey doing the rock wall...

Hanging out. I must say the boat was beautiful and huge.

Courtney sculpture...

Singing waiters...

Aaron and I with Mahair, one of our waiters.

People ask what the best part was and for me it was being with Aaron for and entire week, just hanging out and realizing that we are still best friends and can have such a good time together. Being with my family was so fun and we came home thinking about when we can go again.

We all missed our kids, but we got back to find out that Tay had had a great time with out us. Playing with cousins, hanging out with Gram and Papa and Matt and getting spoiled rotten. It was nice to be home, but we sure had a wonderful time!

Off to Washington

2011-02-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

A few days before New Years we packed the car and headed to Washington. Taylee needed a check-up and we needed to drop her off with Aaron's parents while we went on our cruise. The drive was horrible. It took us like 15 hrs and I usually sleep, read, etc. but the roads were so bad I just stared out the window and kept asking Aaron if he was ok and to be careful. It was so stressful especially when cars right in front of you slide off the road and you count many many more as you drive. Aaron did so good and every time we felt our car start to slip he was so calm and got us right out of it. We were definatly being watched over. We stayed the first night at my parents and my mom came with us to Taylee's check-up. Once again everything is still clear and she is healthy as can be. That night we went to Dan and Jenni's new house for pizza, then headed to the Alldredge's.

Taylee and Ammon

I missed doing the big family thing at Christmas and so luckily Aaron's mom had arranged for the Alldredge family Christmas to happen when we got there. Everyone was there, except for missionary Sam.

Makay, Molly and Addi

Nathan and Andy

Bonnie, Micah, Dave and Nancy (holding Joel)

Taylee, Molly and Addi

Rachel and Ammon

All the siblings and cousins were passing out gifts and Taylee got spoiled again. So fun to be with everyone!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-02-13T20:01:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas came and went so fast. We had a very small Christmas this year. Because of all the traveling we were going to be doing after Christmas, we stayed home and celebrated with just the three of us.

Taylee on Christmas morning. Aaron and I decided to just fill each other's stockings since we were going on a cruise in like a week so all these presents are for one very spoiled little girl.

Santa's cookies. I was informed though that it is supposed to say "ho, ho, ho" not just "ho, ho".

Opening presents...

One of two favorites, a huge doll house...

Favorite #2: Woody.

We had a great and relaxing morning with a big breakfast and later that day Tiff, Todd and kids came for dinner and games.

The Nativity

2011-02-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Lacey told us that not far from my house a family puts on a live Nativity Program during Christmas time with real animals and treats for free. She said it was good so we asked Tiff and her kids to come along and check it out for FHE.

Weiland, Taylee and Aaron.

It was bitterly cold out, but fun to watch.

Ellie, Quinton and Wei.

Afterwards you could go pet the animals and they passed out homemade donuts and hot chocolate.

Its nice to find something new and meaningful to do for Family Night and a great way to get into the right Christmas spirit. I guess they do this every year so it just might be a new family tradition!

Christmas Program

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Taylee loves preschool and I love preschool programs!! She had been singing the new Christmas songs she was learning for weeks and it was so fun to watch her finally get to sing them at preschool.

I couldn't get her to take her gloves and coat off, but she still looked oh so cute.

The Taylee I used to know would never have participated in singing with actions in public, but she's a whole new girl now and did such a good job. Of course we love that she stands next to Conner who puts lots of feeling and movement into his actions!!

More singing...

"We Wish you a Merry Christmas"

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-02-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

Once again I have fallen way behind and life is just flying by so some of my details may be a bit fuzzy. We had such a great Thanksgiving with lots and lots of family. My parents came along with Dan and Jenni and their kids and we had Bonnie, Andy and Molly here too.

Sisters (I'm missing my big sister by the way)

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my house, but with the day being so busy with cooking and eating and kids everywhere, I only got this one pic.

The next day we went shopping of course and then Saturday we went sledding!
Me and cutie pie Holland.

Taylee is in love with the snow. She could have stayed in it all day whereas Broden, who doesn't see snow much, wasn't too sure about it!

Todd and Tiff.

Tiff and Todd were still doing the long distance thing, but luckily he made it up for Thanksgiving! Brad is always so nice to have us down to the pond where we can have a fire and some good sledding hills.

Aaron, Andy and Taylee. Unfortunatly I didn't get any pics of Aaron doing his sweet jumps on his snowboard behind the snowmobile...

Lacey, Jenni and Sadie.

Dan and Broden

At least he liked the sledding... (I think!)

Ellie and Jacey

Ryker, Brad and Brynlee

Bryn and Lacey.

Man this girl loves to ride the snowmobile!!

We had a great week-end with family and as always it flew by so fast.

Halloween Week

2010-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the rest of you moms of 4 yr. olds out there, but at this house it felt like Halloween lasted all week long. Well actually it all started on Wed. Taylee has this thing I call music preschool and basically any moms with kids about 5 or younger can come for free to this group at the church and this lady in my ward has all the songs and materials to do this little preschool with lots of singing. Anyway, she got to dress up for that...

Ellie has actually been coming with us the past few times and this day was her actual birthday so it was so fun to bring her along. The two witch girls...

After it was over Kelli, the lady from my ward, brought donuts and apple juice yum!

Then after a quick lunch it was off to Ellie's costume birthday party....

The next day was real preschool and she got to dress up for this too. They put on a Halloween parade and program for us. Here they are doing the 5 Little Pumpkins fingerplay...

Here her teacher is reading/singing a Halloween song with the kids that is like the 12 Days of Christmas. I just have to put in a proud mommy moment, Taylee is so different then she used to be. She participates, sings and is happy. It was so so fun to watch and see how much she is enjoying herself!

Another spooky Halloween song...

After the program they got yummy cookies.

Taylee, Conner and Brynlee in the back.

Halloween here was on Saturday. That morning we had practice for our Primary Program (which Taylee did awesome at by the way) and then we decided to carve some more pumpkins. We did this earlier at Tiff's, but Aaron wasn't there and the pumpkin we did was already rotten so we went at it again, this time with Andy, Bonnie and Daddy.

Digging in...

Taylee with another scary face pumpkin. I don't think there has been a year yet that she hasn't wanted a scary pumpkin. Funny girl.

Mine and Bonnie's. (Mine says trick or treat if you can't tell)

Andy's and Taylee's/Aaron's

Getting ready for Halloween night... krimpy crazy witch hair!!

All dressed and ready to go!

A quick stop at the Crabtree's to see all the cousins...

Love that ladybug!

A witch, a vampire and a power ranger...

Pumpkin Holland, Batman Quinton, Tay the witch, Tiger Weiland, and Ellie the witch. They were all so cute!

Freaky....

I just love him....

Aaron and Andy manned the trunk while Bonnie and I took Taylee around. Aaron's bowl had slimmy noodles and Andy had the good stuff. Aaron would tell them they could take a whole handful so they would reach in and grab a huge handful of noodles. The boys got a kick out of this and it was pretty funny to watch!

Taylee and Daddy looking at the loot. Taylee was done after like two rows of cars. She saw she had some tootsie rolls and she was good to go. We had a great Halloween, hope you all did too!

Taylee's 4th Birthday

2010-10-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

Way back in January, at Brynlee's birthday Taylee saw her pink castle cake and thought it was so cool. She had been wanting since then to have a "pink pony castle cake" for her birthday. I was thrilled cause Taylee doesn't usually choose the girliest things. This lasted all the way up until she went and saw Toy Story 3. Then it became all about Toy Story. I convinced her we could have a cowgirl party since Woody and Jesse were cowboy/cowgirl and with a few stipulations, she thought that would be ok. So this is Taylee's 4th Cowgirl Carnival/Toy Story birthday party.

All I had to do was tell Tiff my theme and her talent took over from there. Give all credit for the cute decorations, invites, party favors... the list goes on, to her. Thanks so much for helping me pull this off.

I loved the food table, so fun.

We had a total of 12 kids, including Taylee. 5 of them were cousins, but we had a few friends over too. Each of them got to choose a bandana and a cowboy hat to wear.

Both Tiffany and Lacey were there to help me and I don't know how I would have managed with out them. Each kid got to come fill up a goody bag with their favorite candies.

Here is a picture of the bunch. Top row: Ryker, Conner, Quintion, Weiland, Ellie (and a tiny bit of Brynlee). Front row: Shelby, Coulson, Bella, Caydence, Taylee (Evelyn behind Tay) and Holland. All lookin good.

The first part of the party they did little games like a ring toss, pin the tail on the horse, and knocking cans over with squirt guns. I have to say the best part of the party was having two real horses come to give horse rides. My awesome neighbor down the street was so so so nice to bring her two horses over and make this extra special for Taylee. It was a little nerve racking at first because the kids were so excited and they kept running up and around the horses and I was just hoping no one got hurt. Rob and Cathy were smart enough though to sit them down and tell them a few safety rules before we got started.

Taylee wasn't sure she wanted to do this at first. She let a few other kids have their turn before she decided to get on, but once she did she loved it!

They each got to go once around the yard...

Weiland's turn, he could hardly wait!!!

Then miss Ellie...

Ryker the pro....

Quinton

And Conner....

Now the Toy Story comes in. Here is her Toy Story cake. I couldn't find all the characters in mini form so her birthday present from Aaron and I was a huge combo pack that had everyone bigger. If you can't tell, this is supposed to be a bed. I did the best I could....

Blowing out the candles, which got done a little pre-mature so we had to re-light in the middle of the song...

Present time! Her special requests this year were a pillow pet (which is what she is getting here)...

And...... Buzz Lightyear of course! Thanks grama for fulfilling those wishes!

She was so pleased cause all her guests seemed to know that Toy Story stuff was her favorite right now. She got a Buzz towel, sunglasses, visor, backpack, coloring pad, stickers, water bottle.... I can't even remember it all, but she was a very happy girl. A little bit after her birthday her Gram and Papa came to visit and brought her lots more good Buzz/Toy Story stuff. Then Bonnie, Molly and Andy showed up and she was even more spoiled with a Buzz costume, a soft Buzz to sleep with and even Toy Story popcorn and container. It was quite the birthday and I was so exhausted by the time all the little 4 yr. olds left, but I was so glad Taylee had a great day. I count every birthday as a major blessing for me to get to watch her grow up. Happy Birthday Tay!

Oh and Makay and Addi, she loves doing those beads that melt. Thanks for thinking of her too!

6th Anniversary

2010-10-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I take turns planning what we will do for our anniversary. This year it was Aaron's turn. Some guy who owns this ranch up past Island Park (closer to Yellowstone) came in to Aaron's shop over a year ago and traded him horse back rides for computer stuff. I thought that was a fun trade, but we just hadn't made it up yet to use them. They worked out perfectly though for a really fun/unique anniversary activity...

I rode behind Aaron on the way up and not too far into the ride, I renamed his horse gassy. We laughed a lot on this little trip!

For some reason my horse (Ross) would get behind and then all the sudden realize he was slow and then would run to catch up. My behind was KILLING me by the time we were done.

It was a long process getting everyone on their horses and all the workers would try and freak everyone out by telling them some crazy habit their horse had. They told some they were riding rodeo horses, horses that just like to lay down, horses that bite... I got told mine was a kicker and the funny thing was on the way down Aaron was behind me and when his horse got too close, mine actually would kick at him. We had a good time. It is always nice to spend a whole entire day with your best friend and celebrate how happy we still are to be married.

FHE at the Drive-In

2010-10-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

One of Aaron and I favorite things to do in the summer is go to the drive-in. We have it all worked out perfectly. First we drop Tay off at Tiff's (since she is always so nice to let us put Tay to bed at her house), then stop at Maverik for some good snacks and then on to set things up. We put our back seats down, blow up an air mattress in there and get comfy with pillows and blankets.

As soon as we saw that Toy Story 3 had made it to the drive-in we decided to let Tay in on the fun. She thought it was so fun to lay between mom and dad, eat some snacks and watch a great movie. We thought it was great cause when her movie was over she went to sleep and we watched our double feature. So fun!

My Favortie Moments

2010-10-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

So tired...

These moments are too few and far between... there really is nothing better then having your baby asleep on you.

R Mountain

2010-10-22T13:54:00.001-07:00

So we live pretty close to R Mountain out here in Burton, but had never climbed it. It wasn't till Aaron went with the YM for a mutual activity that the obsession with this mountain started. I'm joking of course, but it sure seems that way when you climb it like 4 or 5 times in one summer. Actually the truth is, it is what happens when all of Aaron's family comes to visit in one year at different times. There just isn't that much to take people to do here so we duplicated activities many many times. Too funny.

Hey I look just about as cool as Micah in my Yellowstone post....

The first climb was just Aaron, Taylee and I. This is not a long hike, but a pretty steep hike. Taylee just ran practically the entire way except when it got a little scary and then daddy carried her. It is pretty cool to get up there and find out it is a volcano on top and to see some of the cool features of it that were formed from Yellowstone.

2010-10-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ok I lied, I do have a few pics from my parents visit...

2010-10-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

I really can't remember much of that week my parents were here, not because it wasn't fun (cause it always is) but mostly because I didn't take enough pictures. So bummed.

We did get to go have a fire at the pond which is always fun...

Aaron showing off his mad soccer skills...

And we did go to Rigby lake which was in much better shape this year.

Oh yeah, and we went to Jackson Hole for the day and tried to ride the free Gondolas, but they are closed to the public on Saturdays.... so dumb. But we ended up eating our picnic in the park, going to the candy shop and getting an ice cream cone. Then we went and did the Alpine Slides.

Me and Taylee starting off...

Everyone went down, including Grama and little Holland too. Love these things!

Heise Hot Springs

2010-10-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

This particular day Lacey and I took our kids out to Heise where they have a pool and a water slide and a diving board and some hot pools too. This was the first time we went this year and Taylee was very much attatched to her floaty and didn't want anything to do with the waterslide. We tried so hard to get her to go, but no convincing worked.

I post this because we actually ended up coming here a total of 3 times this summer and each time we came Taylee got more and more brave. We came back the 2nd time with Bonnie and Aaron and we took her in the warm pool and she went under water. I mean actually dunked her entire head under the water. Now if you know Taylee this is a HUGE deal and once she did it once, she just kept doing it again and again and we laughed and cheered for her and she thought she was so brave and so cool (and so did we). Still no luck though on the waterslide. The third time we came was with Danny and Makay when they came to visit (sorry absolutely no pictures were taken on that). Anyway, her cousin Addi and her baby cousin Isaac all went down the waterslide and I kept trying to bribe her and convince her she would like it, but still she was not interested. She was definatly more comfortabl in the water and played hard. We had used up almost all of our waterslide tickets and had just enough left for all of us to go one more time. We had been watching Uncle Danny go down and Taylee was laughing at him, but still showing no signs of being interested herself. Then, funny thing, she saw a Scooby-Doo life jacket in the pools pile of loaners and she really wanted to wear that life jacket. So just with that she decided to go down the waterslide. She wasn't scared the whole walk up and wasn't scared getting in and laughed and laughed the whole way down. We got done and she said, "lets go again!" But of course those were our very last tickets. What a funny, stubborn little girl.

And then there is Conner who isn't afraid of anything. Here he is about to jump off the diving board. Fun, fun times!

Kyaking

2010-10-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I have to apologize because we had lots of visitors this summer and did lots of fun things with all of them, but for some reason I was just a slacker on getting pictures of it. I know my parents came to visit and Bonnie stayed with us an entire week and this was only event that got documented.

Aaron and I have been up to Island Park many times to float the river and usually get a big nice cushy raft and just relax and float down the river. Well, we tried to do that with Bonnie, but they were out of rafts that day so for some crazy reason we decided to try the kayaks.

Taylee started out with Aaron in his kayak, but these weren't the best quality kayaks and with Taylee and Aaron in one, it almost tipped over every time he tried to paddle. Which of course made Taylee flip out. She was not enjoying herself which of course made Aaron frustrated and at first I was sure this was a miserable mistake. This was my first time in any kind of kayak and it took me a bit to get comfortable, but as soon as I did I took Taylee with me and things got a whole lot better for all of us.

Bonnie was just having an easy time probably laughing at us trying to make these dumb kayaks work and just about falling in so many times... She was nice enough to carry our snacks though!

All done and feeling better.

Notice we are dry, luckily no tips!

We had a good time, but I am sticking with the raft next time.

4th of July!

2010-10-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

We had another great 4th! It really is probably my 2nd favorite holiday. We started the day as usual, getting up early and setting up our spot on Main Street to watch the parade.

Waiting in the super cold weather for it to start...

Blankets and sweatshirts on the 4th? What is this? So not right to be freezing in July.

My sisters were with us of course, but we even got Nate, Chelsea and Broden to come with us. Too bad it was the worst Rexburg parade we've EVER had... too much lame advertising, not very much music and fun.

As long as they throw candy, the kids are happy. For some reason this year everyone decided to stand the entire time and we couldn't see unless we were standing too so, so much for all our hard work setting up... Oh well!

Lacey, Brynlee and Brad

See what I mean the kids are practically in the middle of the street! Funny....

Nate brought donuts!

We still had fun cause hey, its tradition!

That afternoon we had a BBQ down at the pond with Brad and Lacey, Tiff and a bunch of Brad's fam. Then we headed to I.F. for the best part of the day. Dinner and Fireworks!

You can just sit and watch the fireworks from the tables, but we like to be comfy. Just waiting for it to start...

Nothing better then watching fireworks snuggeled up with Aaron.

We brought Dawn along, she has lived in Rexburg forever and had never been to the best firework show "this side of the Mississippi"!

So one of the great things about living in Rexburg is that even when the 4th is on a Sunday we still get to do all the fun stuff cause it gets moved to Saturday. Unfortunatly Bonnie couldn't get there in time for the fun on Saturday so we did some fireworks to celebrate the real 4th of July.

Taylee ran like crazy every time she got some sparklers... so grateful she didn't catch on fire!

What do we got left?

Like I said, another great 4th of July!

Our One and Only Trip to Egan Lake

2010-10-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

So when summer finally came we headed out to Egan Lake which we loved last year... we just didn't remember all the bugs and tadpoles and slime...

I think there is supposed to be a tadpole in there that is now probably dead from being squished in the mud and squished by Taylee.

We had a dirt eater... she didn't like it, but just kept doing it...

Us moms were grossed out, but all the kids loved it.
And actually I did go back once more with just Tay and Ellie and it was much better!

Micah and Nancy's Visit June 2010

2010-10-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

So for Aaron's family the highlight of coming to see us is dirt bike riding and shot gun shooting. Thanks to Brad, we have an awesome place to do it!

I think Andy is going to get this one...

Ok, now they are serious...

My cutie pie...

Taking my turn...

Hanging out with Nancy.

Too noisy...

A fun way to start off the visit.

Crest Creek

2010-10-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

So if I had known that we would hike Crest Creek trail like 5 times during the upcoming summer, I may not have enjoyed it so much, but we had a good time doing it with our visitors.

Taylee getting ready to hike...

Taylee buttering Uncle Andy up for all the carrying she is about to ask him to do!

Nancy, Joel and Micah

Who knows what they are looking at....

Aaron's slide....

Let the carrying begin... what a nice uncle!

Everyone!

Day Trips

2010-10-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

So we had to keep ourselves busy during the week while Aaron was working so one day we went to the zoo.

Almost that big...

The petting zoo, I think we all know how I feel about this by now!

Sitting on the tiger, can't even remember if the real tiger was out, probably not!

Another day we went up to Island Park to this place where these huge fish just hang out by the bridge waiting for people to feed them I guess. I don't know if you can see them in this pic, but they are pretty huge and kinda cool to see.

There is also a little trail you can go on to look at an old cabin and to see where the spring comes out of the mountain.

Checkin it out...

We missed Daddy...

Trip to Yellowstone

2010-10-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

So for the last part of Micah and Nancy's visit we went to Yellowstone. Micah had never been and it had been a while for Nancy so we made the trip.

We got stuck in a little traffic and we just so happened to get stopped behind this car. I don't know if you can read the bumper stickers, but Aaron said, "typical suberu"!

We went up Thursday afternoon, oh this is clear back in June by the way, and did a small part of the park that evening. We stayed the night and finished the park the next day. We all wanted to be together so when we got inside the park, Taylee sat up front with me.

Taylee is really into "cool" poses lately!!

This was probably Aaron and I's fourth or fifth time coming to Yellowstone since we've lived here, but we saw more of the park on this trip then we had ever seen before and there is something about seeing it with 1-someone who hasn't seen it before and 2-people who are excited to see it and view it as their vacation. We had a really good time. But should I mention that it was June and it snowed and was really windy the first day - notice how I have on two sweatshirts AND my winter coat!

Micah, Joel and Nancy

Aaron had to get a shot of this awesome river!! What is it about boys and nature?!?

Super cool Micah!

Another cool stop...

We ended up seeing deer and elk, a bald eagle!!, bison, a black bear and a brown bear, mountain goats... I think that's it. Just about everything except a moose. Pretty cool.

We did a LOT of walking and Taylee and Joel both did surprisingly well.

Aaron and Tay.

I just love when Taylee and I get extra days with dad and this was an awesome way to end our really fun visit with Micah and Nancy. Hope you guys will come back soon!

It's Been A Long Time...

2010-09-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to get on to my inactive blog and say I am gearing up to post all about our summer since I have been such a slacker. We have had lots of family visits and fun little trips. Taylee turned 4 and there is so much to share. I am having Aaron download pictures from his phone so I should be good to go tomorrow!!

Days 1 and 2: Traveling

2010-05-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

So finally on Friday, April 30th, the big day finally came! She was so excited to rip off that last ring!

We waited for Aaron to get home from work and then packed up the car and headed to Salt Lake to spend the night. We couldn't believe we were about to go on this amazing trip and not have to pay for one bit of it. Make-a-Wish is amazing!!

My neighbor and friend gave Taylee this Buzz Lightyear shirt and she wanted to wear it all the time! She new it was for Disney World and was so excited that we were finally going. Everywhere we went she kept saying, "I think I see Disney World" Of course she had no idea what she was looking for and no idea that we were still in Utah, but I loved how excited she was!

Hanging out in our room...

Playing with Daddy...

Waiting for our flight...

This was a rough day... the plane ride was long and she was so anxious to get there that she got pretty impatient on the plane. When we finally made it, we were so glad to be done traveling and to start enjoying our vacation!!

Give Kids the World Village

2010-05-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would share some pictures of the place we stayed. It is called Give Kids the World and it is an amazing place. The guy who opened it was an owner of a hotel a while back and would allow Wish families to stay in his hotel for free. There wasn't much space there so it would take a long time for Wishes to be granted because they had to wait for space to open up for them to stay. So this guy decided to change that and opened up Give Kids the World and man did they go all out to make it feel like the coolest place a kid could stay.

Right as we got there I went to orientation and Taylee and Aaron went to a party they were having for the mayor of the Village. His name is Mayor Clayton and he is a big bunny. They did different events every night of the week and had activities going on all day every day.

They had someone walking around with armadillos one day...

This was cool, they brought a piece of mail to Taylee and inside was a letter from the fairy and this star. You were supposed to take it to the Castle of Miracles, put your name on it, and then the fairy would take it and put it up on the ceiling of the castle that night. More pics to come.

They had people walking around with cameras just to take pictures of your family. You just told them your room number and they would put all your pics on a disc for you to take home. We didn't get many because you are so busy trying to get to all the parks that you have to miss out on some of the fun things they do here.

So we didn't take many of our own pics because they told me at orientation that they would send us home with pictures of all the things here at the village. It was so cool, I just had to share some of them. This is the main building. If you had any questions, needed tickets to any other parks, wanted to rent movies or other things like that, you came here.

We didn't have time to do this, but they had a miniture golf course called Dino Putt and it was totally dinosaur themed. So cute!

This was called Amberville. Outside this building was the train ride, inside was an enormous play train station with buttons you could push to make the parts move.

I couldn't help but think of all the little boys who love trains and would be in heaven if they saw this.

Here is the train. Taylee loved riding this!

This building was called Julie's Safari Theater. We didn't do much in here, but one night was Christmas. They decorated all over with Christmas decorations and had it snow. There was a party with dancing and treats and inside this theater you could go see Santa. Then there were shelves and shelves with all different kinds of toys they could choose from. Just another generous thing they do for the kids here.

Inside the theater

This is the ice cream palace. Probably the best building there!! You could go as much as you wanted and get any kind of ice cream, milk shake, banana split, sundaes or anything else you could think of with all the toppings. Yum!!

Inside the ice cream Parlor...

This is inside the Castle of Miricles. They put all the stars of every kid that has ever stayed there up on the ceiling and you can come back and see it anytime you want. Really cool!

A carousel too!

This tree was called Ol' Elmer. He was always asleep and would snore and make other noises when you walked by...

This is the Gingerbread House where you eat all your meals (if you want). You could also order pizza to your villa or Boston Market food.

Inside the Gingerbread House...

They had a day that they brought horses in and the kids could ride them. We weren't around for this either. There was just so much to do and not enough time to get to it all...

Just a pretty pond in the middle of the property..

This is where you brought your star to the fairy to put on the ceiling. Inside this castle was a pillow maker too. Taylee liked doing that.

This is what their newer villas look like. They are expanding and the new ones look so fun! Ours was one of the least interesting on the outside, but they all looked different.

They also had this huge playground that was Candyland themed. One night they had a live Candyland game where the kids were the players.

This was where the pool was, our favorite place to go!

It was a nice big pool that was heated slightly so it wasn't to cold. It had fountains that changed colors and sprayed water out the sides. We stayed away from those...

This is Tay in her bed. The first day we got there they had left a bag full of toys and presents for her. Every morning after that they brought her a new gift. We came home with 6 new movies, lots of stuffed animals, color books, a Give Kids the World Candyland game and much much more. They bend over backwards for these kids and we just had a blast staying here and checking out all the fun stuff they had for us to do here too!

Day 3: Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios

2010-05-15T09:42:00.001-07:00

This was such a great first day. We had been told about all the special treatment we would get, but you never know how cool it is until you start to experience it. We were a little shy about how exactly to get to the front of the line or about flashing our badge around, but it is like they are trained to recognize you and not make you feel bad at all about getting all this special treatment. They told us exactly what to do and we got to see and do so much because of it. We started the day at the Animal Kingdom and it is like a zoo and theme park all in one. We took Taylee on this river raft ride where you get wet and that was not the best way to make her trust rides right off the bat. She doesn't like getting splashed and all three of us came off the ride soaked.

Next we went to see this Bug's Life show in 3D. She was excited before hand because you got these cool glasses, but it didn't take long into the show before she was totally freaked out and we had to leave. It was a cool show though, just too intense for a three year old. We were now 0 for 2...

She had to take a picture of me...

After not much luck during our previous activities, we decided to try something a little safer. They had an African safari ride that was really fun. She liked this one.

There we lots of cool animals that we don't get to see here in Idaho and we all enjoyed this ride.

Driving around Florida, there are swamps everywhere and Aaron kept telling Taylee that the crocodiles live there. We finally saw one here...

Giraffes...

And even Gorillas!!

After Taylee being unsure about things all day we stumbled on this place called camp Minnie Mickey and here were all her favorite characters. This was the first time she had seen anyone and she had been asking all day, "where's Mickey?" We didn't know yet that our badge got us to the front of these lines too so Aaron took Tay to meet Chip and Dale while I held our place in line for Mickey. He came back saying that we didn't have to wait to meet the characters either!

This was my favorite moment on the whole entire trip. She was so excited to finally meet Mickey and she walked right up to him and just started talking to him and showing him her Mickey and he hugged her and there was no other way to describe the feeling of it except for saying it was truly magical. I cried and really felt like this was what the whole trip was about. This turned Taylee's mood around and made her feel like this was the best place ever!

She wasn't nervous at all to see Mickey. She didn't want to see Minne and was unsure about Donald. When she got up to him she showed him her Mickey and he took him by the tail and hung him upside down and waved his hand in front of his nose like Mickey was stinky and Taylee thought this was hilarious. She kept saying all day, "silly Donald". He definitely won her over.

And Goofy is always good!
We also got to see the Lion King show which was incredible. She loved it until they started to sing the song that Scar sings in the movie and a guy was up there eating and spinning fire and that scared her. It was a really fun show to watch.

After half the day at Magic Kingdom we headed over Disney's Hollywood Studios. We loved it here too. They had a Playhouse Disney show that Taylee absolutely loved!

Just waiting for the show to start...

It was like a live show of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins in one. So perfect for Taylee!

They had a special place here too were tons of different characters were hanging out and she got to meet lots more of her favs. She loves the incredibles and wanted to meet them, but got a little nervous when it came down to it. They were good with her though and she had a good time with them!

Mickey again!!

Pluto wasn't at the Animal Kingdom so she wanted to see him for sure. Now Minnie was Ok cause she was with Pluto...

We saw Pocahontas, Pinocchio and Gepetto, Aladdin and Jasmine and others, but Taylee didn't want to meet them. As we were trying to leave the building we walked around the corner and there was Snow White. No one else was around except for the worker that stays with her and as soon as Taylee saw her she ran away back around the corner. She did not want anything to do with her. Snow White went and got a sticker from the worker and just held her hand around the corner so all Taylee could see was the sticker and her hand. Taylee refused to take it. I was impressed at how hard Snow White tried to win her over, but nothing worked. So mommy took a picture with her instead.

Hollywood Studios had some really fun rides including the Toy Story ride which was fun for all of us. Aaron and I rode some good ones here too. Except for it taking all day for me to get dry from our first ride at Animal Kingdom, it was a really really great first day!

Day 4: Magic Kingdom

2010-05-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

We had to get going early again this day because they had scheduled us for a character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. We weren't sure how she would like it because she didn't really know who they were, but when we got there to check in, they told us Mickey and Pluto were there too. That was a nice surprise!

Our breakfast was at one of the many Disney World resorts and it was a luau themed breakfast. Taylee took this picture for Aaron and I.

We regretted not having an autograph book the previous day so we went to the gift store here and got one for today. Taylee decided she better put her own autograph in it a zillion times. She is pretty proud that she can write her name.

The breakfast was really good and so much food. The only thing is, the day before Taylee had met Mickey and other characters and we got to walk right up and see them. Here, you had to wait for them to come to your table and talk to you which for people who have to wait in line outside for a long time to meet them is a good set up, but it was hard for Taylee to be patient. She just wanted to walk right over and see them. They told us to stay for an hour and a half to allow the characters time to get to us.

This was the view from our table. There was water all around and in the distance you could see the castle at the Magic Kingdom. Pretty cool!

We stuck around long enough for Taylee to meet Lilo and she did pretty good considering she is a girl character. It just wasn't one of those characters she was looking forward to seeing.

They also had a parade in the middle of breakfast and Aaron and Taylee are back there having fun. That is the closest she got to Stitch. We had already been there a long time and when the parade was over the characters were at table far away from us or went on break so we decided to go since we knew we could get her in to see Mickey again if she wanted to. We are glad we did it, but we were ready to get to the Magic Kingdom!

The first ride we did was the Buzz Lightyear ride which was fun, but honestly not as good as the one at Disney's Hollywood Studios. She still liked it though, especially when we came out and there was the REAL Buzz! Buzz was the one character, besides Mickey, that she was most excited to meet and here he was. She was in heaven!!

Happy girl!

I think this was the one line we waited in. Sometimes for certain rides they just let you use the fast pass lane and there was a wait even in this line. She was excited to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

This girl loves carousels of every kind.

I was excited because they still had the Swiss Family Robinson tree house here. Last time I was at Disneyland they had transformed the tree house into a Tarzan type thing and I was bummed so it was fun to see it here again.

It was sad, but this was our least favorite day. I thought it would be the best, but it was like over 100 degrees and really humid and the park was so so crowded, I mean way too packed to enjoy it and we were all so tired from getting up early the past few days and traveling. Anyway, we left early and went back to the village to relax. We really needed it. We left knowing we would try it again a different day when we weren't so exhausted and hopefully it wasn't so crowded.

Day 5: Sea World

2010-05-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

We were so exhausted from going nonstop that we all slept in and that helped us all feel a lot better. It was another really hot day and we decided to spend it at Sea World. It was such a fun day. They treated us just as good here as at the other Disney Parks and we did and saw lots of fun things.

We started off with Shamu of course. It is pretty amazing to see whales in the first place, but that these crazy people get in the water and train them to do tricks is incredible.

Even though it was hot, I was so glad we weren't sitting down front. Those whales splashed everyone like crazy and the people were soaked. It was funny to watch though!

The dolphin show was next and we got much better seats for this show. It was the best show by far. As you can see the tricks they do are so cool and it was way more entertaining to watch then the whales. During the show they released all these birds that were flying around the stadium and they had people doing all sorts of acrobatic stuff up in the air all while the dolphins are swimming around doing flips and other crazy stuff with their trainers. It was an awesome show.

They told me at orientation that at Sea World they would let your child feed one of three animals; the dolphins, manta rays, or sea lions. We thought feeding the dolphins would be the coolest so we went to do that. It's funny how smart they are. The people told us to not place anything on the ledge or hanging around our neck because the dolphins like to steal whatever they can, especially the tray you have full of fish. They took a really cool picture of Taylee feeding the dolphins that we bought. It was really cool.

Then we wandered into the manta ray area where you could pet them and a worker came up and told us we could feed them too, in fact we were allowed to feed all three animals while we were there. This one freaked Taylee out a little bit because you have to hold a shrimp in between your fingers and let the mantas come and suck it out of your hand. She just would toss the shrimp in. She liked watching Aaron do it though and I just took the pictures for this one.

They had lots of cool aquariums and this was the penguin building. She loved them and had to have a penguin to take home.

Later we found the sea lions and had fun feeding them too. You had to be careful though because there are all these really big and tall birds that try and steal the fish. One actually came and grabbed one right out of Aaron's hand.

Taylee tried so hard, but her throw just kept coming up a little short and then the birds would get the fish instead of the sea lion. She liked it a lot though!

The last show we wanted to see was the sea lion show. It was more of a comedy show then a show for us to see tricks. We laughed and it was pretty entertaining, but nothing could match up to the dolphins.

It is amazing how exactly they follow directions.

They had a place to see sharks and the tank inside went over your head. Pretty cool stuff...

Aaron and I rode two pretty awesome roller coasters throughout the day, one actually being the best roller coaster I have ever been on. It is a Manta Ray themed roller coaster, but you ride it Superman style so you are laying forward looking at the ground. So so fun!! Anyway, Taylee had been so good to let us do a few rides that we ended our day in the kid area where she had lots of fun riding all the rides they had there. Starting with the carousel of sea animals.

We took Taylee on a Goofy roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom and she didn't like it too much, but she saw this one and really wanted to ride it. I think she got more used to rides and after watching Aaron and I have so much fun riding them, I think she wanted to be cool and brave and ride them too. We took her on this whale roller coaster and she loved and wanted to do it again and again. They had lots of good rides for kids and she had a great time doing them all.

It was kind of nice because Sea World closed at 7 so we got home at a decent time and decided to go try out the pool. This is just a picture of the (they called them villas, but they were just like a condo). It was really nice with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and washer and dryer.

The pool ended up being one of Taylee's very favorite things on our trip. She had this tube and with it she got pretty confident in the water which if you know Taylee, she is a big baby in the water. She was jumping in and swimming on her own. As long as we stayed away from the fountains that sprayed water, she was happy as could be and the pool felt so nice after being hot all day.

In the pool area was a huge splash park area. Taylee went in it for about two minutes. She has this thing about water being poured/splashed on her... she doesn't like it.

She was so happy on this trip. I mean she got tired which would make her moody at times, but for how much we were going and going and how little sleep she got compared to how much she gets at home, she did so good and was so happy and excited to do everything. She did say to me, "mom, I think we have two homes, Disney World and that other one." She was loving this.

Day 6: Epcot and Magic Kingdom

2010-05-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

So we hadn't been to Epcot yet and to be honest, it was the one I was least excited about, but there turned out to be some really cool stuff for Tay and for us. I know Aaron could have stayed all day. The plan was to do what would be most fun for Tay here and the few things Aaron just had to see or do and then go back to the Magic Kingdom for the late afternoon and evening.

This is the big sign as you drive in to any of the four parks. It is pretty exciting when you see it and know that you are finally here! We took a picture of it our last time going through...

Here we are at the famous "ball" at the Epcot center. I didn't know, but it is a ride inside (among other things) pretty cool...

They had a whole building that was Nemo themed. It had a clam ride which was fun for Tay, a show called Turtle Talk with Crush which was our favorite thing here and an enormous aquarium. Taylee had to get a Nemo to take home with her.

As we were walking around we saw Chip and Dale hanging out and Tay had seen them already, but she just loved them so we stopped to say hi again. I just can't get over how good all the characters are at making kids feel special. They were hugging her and kissing her and picking her up and tickling her and she just couldn't stop laughing and smiling and tickling them back.

That's a real Taylee smile...

Now we had already seen all these characters at other parks, but seeing these guys was really her favorite part so with them all right in one building together, and being able to cut to the front of the line, we took her through to see all her pals again. She thought it was so cool to show Mickey her stuffed Mickey...

Pluto makes her laugh every time...

Even Minnie was OK to Taylee when she was grouped with everyone else. She was just about the only girl character Taylee would have anything to do with.

Donald won Taylee over when he teased her about Mickey so Taylee loved to see him. We didn't get the picture on our camera, but he was tipping her over and squeezing her and she loved it...

And of course she thought Goofy was so cool too. He hugged her over and over and the worker said, "Goofy you can't keep her". That made Taylee feel pretty special.

So in our packet of stuff we got at the Village was a VIP lounge pass and we thought hey, if we got it we should see what it is all about. So we went into the air conditioned lounge and got some free drinks and a special escort to the ride inside the ball. It took a little while to get used to and not be shy about all the special privileges you get, but they don't want you to be shy and they never make you feel bad for taking advantage of all they offer.

After we were done at Epcot, we drove over to the Magic Kingdom. This is Tay and I on the tram ride in. At Disney World you either have to take a big ferry boat or a tram to the park. The first time we went we took the ferry and it took forever so this day we were smarter and rode the tram (plus it was so much cooler).

Right as we walked in it was time for the big parade which we had missed the other day we were here so we were so excited that we were right on time to see it. Aaron was so smart and moved us to the other side of the road where there weren't as many people and man did Taylee get tons of attention. This is Tay waiting for the parade to start...

It was honestly like the parade was just for her. Just about every character that was walking around came and talked to her and let us take pictures in the middle of the parade and if they were on a float they waved at her and she just didn't know how lucky she was to be getting all this attention.

Abu from Aladdin...

The best part of the parade was seeing Jesse and Woody. Taylee had already met Buzz and was wondering why Woody wasn't with him and was asking to see him. Aaron and I didn't know how to find him exactly except we had heard he sometimes wanders around Frontier land. We were so hoping we would bump into him so Taylee could meet him, but this was even better. Woody and Jesse both came up to her during the parade and talked to her and she was so excited.

This is Zurg with his head cut off... no, they had a fun Buzz Lightyear ride where you have these laser guns and you are trying to help Buzz defeat Zurg and as you come out of the ride they have Zurg all locked up.

Now Taylee loves Peter Pan and i know it doesn't look like it in this picture, but that is only because Wendy is there. She was so annoyed because she really wanted to see Peter Pan, but Wendy just kept talking to her and she didn't want anything to do with her.

Don't you just love how cheesy and in character Wendy is. All the characters did such a good job.

There is a building at the Magic Kingdom with two lines. One for the Princesses and one for the Fairies. Taylee didn't really want to see either, but her mom really did so I asked her which one she wanted to take me to see and she chose Tinker Bell. I can't believe how long people were waiting with their little girls to meet these characters. Once again we were so lucky to skip the hour and a half wait to get in. It was pretty cute though, they tell you that they shrink you so you can talk to Tinker Bell and when we got in they talked just like the movie. They called her autograph book a leaf journal and when her pen was having trouble writing, they said it was running out of berry juice. So fun for me at least!

It was nice since this was our second day and we had already done just about everything so there was no pressure. We could just do what we felt like doing again. We rode all of Tay's favorites again and even asked if she wanted to go get done up like a Princess in the castle. No surprise she turned us down. This is a pic of Aaron on Splash Mtn. He is mad because the ride had technical difficulties while he was on it and they wouldn't let him off the ride!

After riding everything we wanted to again, (including Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion) (we aren't mean parents, she liked them both and wanted to ride again), anyway we went and staked out a spot for the firework show. I loved the Magic Kingdom. It brought back so many happy memories of going to Disneyland as a little girl and I was so glad Taylee could feel how magical this place is. All in all we enjoyed our second day here much more, it was less crowded and maybe not quite as hot, maybe...

Day 7: Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure

2010-05-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

For our last day, we wanted to squeeze so much in because of all they offered us and all there was to do. We had tickets to Wet-n-Wild (obviously a water park) and to a pirate dinner show and to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We set off trying to find a way to get to all of it, but then decided being rushed and stressed was not the best way to spend our last day. So we looked at which park would be the most fun for Tay and chose to go to Islands of Adventure. They treated us just as good with free parking, and special ushers to take us to the front of all the lines. Taylee loved it here too. They had a Dr. Suess land with rides just for her and of course the highlight was meeting Spider Man!

He was so sweet to her and spent a good amount of time talking to her and making sure she got his autograph. They took this awesome picture and we actually had a free picture pass and decided to use it here. She was so excited to tell all her big boy cousins that she met Spider Man.

When we had done all their was to do (including all the big roller coasters and other thrill rides) we decided to just go pack to the Village and swim and lay low before we had to get up early and head out the next day. Unfortunately when we got back, there were heavy clouds above and they don't let you do any water activities when there is a chance of lightening so the pool was closed. We were all a little bummed, but decided to walk around and do the few things with Tay we hadn't gotten to yet. She put up her star and made a pillow, we got more ice cream and walked around. Eventually, they opened the pool back up and we got in one more night of swimming. I think she may have liked the pool as much as the parks!

We had an amazing time and are so so grateful to all the generous people who donate to organizations like Make-a-Wish that make these wonderful experiences possible for kids who have had to go through things that are just rotten. Everyone treated us like we were the most important and most special people in the whole place and we know we will never have another vacation like it. We made some really great memories as a family and really did just have the BEST time!

Easter Activities

2010-04-06T12:36:00.001-07:00

Well we started with coloring Easter eggs on Thursday...

Tiff and her kids got to go see their dad so it was just the two boys and Taylee, but they sure had a good time...

Conner and Taylee

Taylee's finished product... She got all her eggs died and then discovered she could paint them and she made sure she got every one nice and painted.

Even Lacey got into it!!

Then in between Conference on Saturday, we went to Lacey's for an Easter Egg hunt...

There was some healthy competition, but with only three kids going after tons of eggs, they each got plenty!

Uncle Andy helping Taylee get the high ones...

Showing off her full, full basket...

She had lots of fun and there were plenty of us to help her eat all that candy...

Easter morning...

Playing with her Easter surprises...
Bonnie and Andy brought her an Easter basket too, with good candy and some fun toys and bunny ears. She has such a good aunt and uncle that just spoil her...

We went back to Lacey's for Easter dinner and then Ryker and Conner had prepared an Easter play for us and Taylee joined in. She said she was the "singing guy". They were hilarious! Brad videotaped them and we were all just dying laughing!

Don't they look so cool? Now you probably could guess that this play was about bugs right?!

Easter Dress

2010-03-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

So since we have Conference instead of church on Easter, Taylee wore her Easter dress last Sunday. Grama picked it out and I must say she looked pretty adorable!

Ok, no kidding, she came up with this pose all on her own...

I actually had to ask her to just stand there and smile because she kept coming up with the cheesiest poses! Thanks grama for the dress, we both loved it!

Taylee's First Hike

2010-03-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday I was itching to get out of the house so we decided to go for a hike. There is a trail my sisters told me about called Cress Creek so we packed some snacks and headed out...

I wasn't sure how long Taylee would last cause as soon as she gets bored she decides she is done walking, but surprisingly, she walked almost the entire way!

The first half of the trail is nice and paved with lots of places to stop and sit or look out...

She was loving this and was so happy and funny the whole time...

Checking out the waterfall...

...and the view

She did need a little shoulder time with dad...

This tough girl carried her backpack full of our snacks the entire time...

Aaron had to stop to read all the signs (isn't that totally a dad thing?) so every time Taylee saw one she decided she needed to read it too...

Just like her dad!

We had a lot of fun. The weather was so nice and it was just what I needed!

On the Countdown

2010-03-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

When the Make-a-Wish ladies came over they suggested having some way to help count down till it was time for our trip. This is Taylee's countdown!

She helped me make the whole thing... even the sign...

We have 40 days till we go so it drags a little on the floor, but the way time has been flyin, we will be there in no time...

I put on one extra so she could tear one today. I am so looking forward to this trip and feel a little overwhelmed with all there is to do and with how much miss Tay will be spoiled. She does deserve it though!

Taylee's Books

2010-03-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to even begin to thank my mom for putting these books together for Taylee. She documented Taylee's time in Washington while she had cancer and an entire year after so we could show her her recovery. I know these will mean so much to Taylee someday when she won't really remember this and can see how many people love her and prayed for her and how strong she is for surviving something like that. Mom, it really means a lot that you put so much time and effort into making something that is so special for our entire family.

Plus, they are totally cute...

Every page is scrapbooked to the max and every page is just perfect!

You can see for yourself!

Thanks again mom and to all our family that contributed the sweetest and most touching notes to Taylee. Love you all!

Trip to Washington

2010-03-08T12:46:00.001-08:00

So this post has lots of pictures, but we had lots of fun visiting in Washington! Another three months went by so fast and so we headed back to Seattle for a check-up. Taylee is doing great and is growing and gaining and has no signs of any problems for now so we were happy to get that out of the way so we could play the rest of the week!

Aaron could only stay like 2 days so he worked on Friday and Saturday we played at the Alldredge's and did a little late celebrating for his birthday. It was fun to get outside for a boat ride and for Taylee to play with cousins!

Monday we got to spend the day at Dan and Jenni's...

We went out to get Jacey off the bus and played outside till dinner... Taylee was in heaven to be outside and not freezing!

As you can guess, she thought she was pretty cool!

Playing with Broden...

This is Dan "teaching" Jacey to ride with out training wheels. She really just needed him for confidence cause she was doing it no problem!

And of course I got to hold my little neice Sadie! I was loving it and she is such a good baby girl!!

It was grandpa's birthday while we were there so we went out to celebrate his 62nd!

We spent Thursday with Alldredge cousins and we went to the Point Defiance Zoo. The animals were pretty active so we got lots of good shows...

Checking out the elephants...

I think there were monkeys in here...

Taylee and Mommy

Because of the peacock at grama Sillito's, Taylee has no fear. But hey, she got it to open its feathers!

Taylee and Gram

Isaac, Makay and Addi

Taylee and Addi on the slides

Isaac, Ammon, Taylee and Addi
Rachel and Ammon

Taylee reading books with grama the night before we left. Thanks for having us mom it was nice to spend some time at home.

Shots

2010-02-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

It was time to start getting caught up on immunizations today and I have been dreading it and dreading it. Hasn't my poor little girl been poked enough in her short life? But we are going to Washington this week-end for another check-up and I know her doctor there will ask if we have started her immunizations again and I do want to be honest so we went today. It was awful...

They barely even came in the room and Taylee started screaming and crying and her face was bright red and I just felt like the worst mom ever... they poked her skinny little legs six times...

I tried to make up for it by taking her to McDonalds and letting her pick out a new movie, but I feel bad that we have more doctor visits this week-end and more immunizations next month...

Make-a-Wish!!

2010-02-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that Taylee was eligible for a wish from the Make-a-Wish foundation because she had a life threatening illness. We have been in touch with them off and on for months and they finally came to meet Taylee last Thursday!

This morning I got a phone call telling us that we would be going to Disney World from May 1st to May 7th!! We are so excited to get to do this and really celebrate that Tay is done with all this cancer business! Make-a-Wish is so amazing and so generous to these kids and really do so much to make them feel so special and happy. They are providing us with airline tickets to Orlando, a rental car, a really cool hotel called "Give Kids the World" where each family gets their own apartment like place and the entire place is geared toward kids. They have train rides, carousels, 24 hr pizza and ice cream. They leave presents on Taylee's bed every night and provide all meals too. The ladies that came over said there is so much to do there you could just not leave the hotel! Then they give you tickets to Disney World for 5 days and spending money... we are still waiting to hear cause they might also provide a day at Sea World! They also give you special hats to wear so you can go to the front of every line... it is overwhelming and amazing, all the stuff they do for these kids and Aaron and I are so excited that we can be a part of it too and watch how much fun Taylee is going to have!

Preschool

2010-02-16T16:15:00.001-08:00

So Taylee started preschool in January, but was not in the mood to take pictures the first couple of times so when she finally warmed up to it we took some "first day of preschool" pictures.

Cheesy

Crazy

She still is a little nervous at the beginning of each day... she makes me go with her to hang her coat up, put her nametag on and then walk her to the sinks to wash her hands before I can go. After that, she does just fine. She is going to the preschool at BYU-I that I went through for my degree so it is kind of fun to go and watch! She goes M W and F and is gone long enough for me to go work out and get a shower before it is time to pick her up. She is having a great time!

I just have to post it...

2010-02-16T16:11:00.001-08:00

Ok when you get a picture as adorable as this... sorry I just had to post it!

I am so glad Taylee has such a great dad!

Random Posts from January

2010-02-07T14:09:00.001-08:00

Wow, January has come and gone already.... I just have a couple random things to blog about. First, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Andy came to visit earlier this month and we had lots of fun with them. Well, we were being lazy one morning and Tay was just playing off by herself. I got up from our couch and was walking to the kitchen and this is what I saw...

This would normally be a pretty scary sight to find in your house... a noose with a chair under it, but I called Andy and Bonnie over and we had a good laugh, took some pictures and then quickly took down the suicide scene.Taylee, inocent as can be, was just playing and has been very interested in tying things. I should have been watching better because earlier she had tried to tie herself to that rope so she could swing. Crazy girl!!A couple weeks later Tay's Gram came to visit and I am bummed I didn't get any pictures of them together. They had such a good time playing and of course her Gram spoiled her with a present every day! A couple days later Aaron's brother Nathan and his family joined us and it is always so fun to have an excuse to go play. We went shotgun shooting and sledding and out to dinner. Above is Taylee playing with her cousin Ammom.

Then this last week Taylee and Aaron and myself have all been sick with colds. The kind that make you feel just wiped out so one night Tiffany was so sweet to me and brought a totally yummy dinner- complete with things that feel good on your throat... mashed potatoes, ice cream and of course, JELLO!! Thanks again for doing that Tiff, and as you can see the Jello was thoroughly enjoyed!

Isn't this what dad's do... teach their kids all the cool tricks they know! I watched in disgust, but had to take a picture!

Christmas

2010-01-08T14:59:00.001-08:00

We had such a great Christmas this year. We stayed in Rexburg which was a big change for me in lots of ways. I really did miss my brother's and their families... I don't think I have spent a Christmas without Dan since he was on a mission so it didn't feel exactly right, but I did get to be with both my sisters and my parents. We were sad to not spend any time with the Alldredge's this year, but hope that will make them miss us and want to come visit here!!

Christmas Eve my parent's arrived and that afternoon we went caroling at an assisted living center. If you know the Sillito's, you know our singing ability is limited, but I think they enjoyed us anyway. It was nice to bring some happiness and Christmas spirit to others and it really helped me get into it too.

Later that evening we went to the Nielson's for lots of good food, singing and of course a reinactment of the Nativity...

All of the girls in their matching clothes... aren't they so cute!And the boys... aren't they so cheesy!?!!!

Grandpa is getting pretty good on that guitar... the kids can shout out a song and grandpa plays it for them. They had fun being silly and dancing... you should have seen Taylee shake her booty!

Tiff, Todd and Holland

Grandpa playing Christmas songs...

Tay and Ellie dancing... have you noticed the PONYTAIL?! I'm so excited about that!

After the dancing it was time for the Nativity...
We had Quinton -angel, Weiland -Joseph, Taylee -cow, Conner-shepard, Ellie -Mary, and Ryker-baby Jesus

We called Conner the ninja shepard

I asked Taylee if she wanted to be Mary or the angel and she said no, she wanted to be a cow. She did some great "lowing" and admiring of baby Jesus!!

After some convincing we had Ellie be Mary...

Don't they look so humble and sweet looking at Ryker (baby Jesus)?
Ryker just insisted he be baby Jesus- it is hard not to laugh when all the kids look so cool!

And this is after Santa showed up Christmas Eve... and too bad this was the last picture that was taken.

We had a great Christmas morning. Taylee slept in till like 9 which is nuts for her, but Aaron and I were fine with it! We took our time opening presents and Taylee was thrilled with everything. What she really wanted this year was "Baby Alive" so every time we would hand her a present she would ask, "Is this my Baby Alive?" She got so much fun stuff her gramas both spoiled her rotten and it is hard with one kid to not do a little spoiling too.

Aaron also got pretty spoiled this year too with a new shot gun and all the accesories... it is so fun to have a good surprise under the tree. It would have been even better if he hadn't figured it out!!

I told my mom I never realized how much work doing Christmas is. I usually show up at her house and enjoy all her hard work, but this year I learned how exhausting it all is, but still so worth it. (That is probably why I didn't take anymore pictures) We had a yummy Christmas dinner and played and ate all evening. We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as much as we did!

Once there was a snowman small, small, small...

2009-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't bee feeling great this week and I promised Taylee that when I felt better we could go out and build a snowman... little did I know that Idaho has awful snow for building a snowman! It just falls apart and wouldn't stay together until I brought out a pitcher of water to make ice balls and this is as good as I could get...

Taylee's comment, "uh he's small..."

I never thought I would miss Washington snow full of leaves and dirt, but at least when you roll a snowball there you can count on it getting bigger...
We did have fun playing in the snow though and Taylee keeps wishing her snowman could talk... I just tell her we don't have the "magic hat" -I just love this girl!