Crazy Chipmunks vs Cuddly Kids

It was a clear day with a gentle breeze kissing her cheek. She spotted her prey -- two bigger-than-life chipmunks. She waited patiently in a line of people, trying to blend with her surroundings. Then, spotting her moment, she pounced on them. At first, she was very tentative in her movements, assessing her competition to see if they would nibble off her arm with those huge white teeth that looked like chainsaws. Then, reaching out to feel the soft fur, she was lured into a false sense of security.

The more sinister of the two rodents reached out and grabbed the little girl, placed her in its lap, and put the Chip Zone of Tranquility around her. After several moments, she was able to whip around, administer the behind-the-ear hypnosis scratch, and charm the wild beast into submission.

As a final show of dominance, both rodents were placed in bear hug constrictions and told never to speak of this encounter again.

Or, something like that.

Mamas Don't Let Your Daughters be Cowgirls

You try to raise your kids right, teach them well, provide food and a roof over their head, guide them in the right direction . . . . Yet, they still can end up a cowgirl and sleeping in a box!

Excited to sleep in a box tonight!

Sporting her new pink cowgirl boots, hat, and BROWN shirt
(had to be brown since that is what cowboys wear -- a particular point)

Icing Time

Tonight was about icing the those cookies who had not fallen victim to the munchies over the last couple of days. We had five fun colors to drizzle all over the cookies, and we ended up with some great pieces of art! Enjoy!!!

Gingerbread House

Courtney got into the Christmas Spirit last night at a social making Gingerbread houses! Surprisingly, she made it home without eating any of it.

Cooking (and consuming) Christmas Cookies

So far, sugar cookies and chocolate-covered pretzels have been created. Unfortunately, half of the sweets made are gone already! Oh well, we can just make more.

Guess how many times I can ask "can I eat this piece?"

Just add flour

Courtney teaching the girls the best part of cooking -- licking the beaters!

Daughter Date Day Delights

Mark and Olivia enjoyed "The Princess and the Frog" at the movie theater in Celebration City last week. The movie was fun, especially combined with a cinnamon pretzel, large popcorn, and a large coke!!! After the movie, they snagged a couple "wicked apples" from The Candy Cauldron and enjoyed them at home.

This is nuts!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas

This will be the first Christmas in two years with all of the Taylor clan together. Friday was spent putting the final touches on the tree and decorations around the house. Combine the low illumination of lights with the "cold" temperature today (57 degrees) and you get a recipe for that holiday spirit.

The Final Touch

Admiring her Handiwork

Little Decorator

The Mighty Mile-er

2009 Dec 009, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Olivia showed everyone up two nights ago when she ran non-stop for one mile (around the block). She was a bit flushed afterwards, and she said her legs were sore the next morning. But, she ran another non-stop mile again tonight! Way to go!!!

Family Time Again

After 9 weeks of training and being away from family, Mark has enjoyed his girls and his family once again. We made it to Missouri and have bounced between families for vacation time. We have enjoyed hiking through the woods, watching Waltzing Waters, going to Fantastic Caverns, attending a birthday celebration, putting up Christmas decorations, and eating and eating and eating and eating. We are almost ready to return to Florida and prepare the house for everyone coming down for Christmas! Woo hoo!

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree

LaDonna enjoys her Grandkids

Fun Family Reunited

Happy Birthday #2

Happy Birthday to Katelee! She celebrated in style a little early while in MO with family and friends. She definitely did not like the focused attention on her while everyone sang Happy Birthday. In fact, she cried. However, once she learned presents in the wrapped boxes were hers to keep, she warmed up to this birthday idea. Once she arrived in Orlando, she was treated to a day of doughnuts, a shopping spree, and Steak-n-Shake. What more could a girl ask for?

Halloween Happiness

The girls enjoyed a fun time in Missouri over the last two weeks. They have enjoyed grandparent time, as well as playing with their cousins. They also enjoyed Halloween, dressing up as Sleeping Beauty (Olivia) and a fairy (Katelee). Enjoy the pics!

What to wear for Halloween

Mark has been gone for nearly a month now. Unfortunately, it will be another month before he sees his girls again. In the meantime, life moves on, and the girls are doing well. Olivia has been attending school three times per week, and she really enjoys it. Her teacher praised her for being really bright. Katelee is finally making the potty connection (it must have been her own IKEA potty chair). She was quite proud when she told her daddy on the phone, "I potty."

While Mark is finishing up training (and preparing for some more), Courtney and the girls are preparing to see Fall. Orlando's benefit is the warm weather allows the girls to play in the pool still. However, Courtney is ready to see the trees change color and feel the cool October air of Missouri. So, they are preparing to head North while the owners of our house take their furniture. Of course, Halloween will happen while they are in Missouri.

Olivia has decided (over the last few months) she would like to be: a butterfly, Tinkerbell, an angel, and a few other characters. However, she has finally landed on a costume (for now) -- Sleeping Beauty. This was probably solidified when she saw her at Disney. We'll see if that changes though. As for Katelee, I'm not sure she cares . . . as long as she keeps getting chocolate for going potty. She'll think she hit the jackpot for Halloween!

Fun Pics

In this first shot, Katelee is showing off both her talent of putting on Mama's shoes and her new pink panties. She is pretty proud of herself for both feats. So is Mama.

Here, Liv joins her in showing off. She is also sporting her new princess tiara.


Here is this years first attempt at pumkin carving. Actually, it is Mama's first attempt ever. Definately room to improve.

Sand here is so much nicer than Guam sand. Powder white. Ah. On a Friday visit with Aunt Vjay, Liv and distant cousin Miranda made fast friends. There is nothing better than a day of friends, family, food, swimming, and sand!

Family Photo

Are we there yet?

Since moving to Orlando, when we drive by a nearby entertainment park (a few small rides), Olivia keeps asking, "Is that Disney World?" Well, today she learned what Disney is really like! We spent a full day at the park and managed to ride a lot of rides (although Space Mountain was shut down), meet Mickey & Minnie, and meet three Princesses (the one in the pink dress, the one in the blue dress, and the one in the yellow dress). Katelee was a bit on the shy side with all the characters, but she loved the rides (even the Haunted House). Olivia was a bit shy on some of the rides, but she loved the characters.

There are some great shots of the girls meeting the characters here.

Or, enjoy all our pics by clicking on the link to the right (Photos).

Filling Momma's Shoes

It is definitely tough trying to fill momma's shoes.

Part of the battle is finding the right shoes though!

Perfect Timing

Well, it has been a ride, and I think we have finally started getting settled. We looked and looked and looked for a rental house (mainly on the East side of town), and then one popped up (on the South side of town). We finally signed a lease 1 week ago on a house that fits our needs, wants, and indulgences perfectly. There are plenty of rooms (for visitors), plenty of space (for energetic kids), a pool (for hot days), a spa (for cool nights), a breakfast nook (for nice meals), a dining room (for larger meals), a garden tub (for soaking), and a nice neighborhood (for running). It is also located near all the fun tourist activities, so we have started making a list of fun things to do (airboat rides, Disney, Universal Studios, etc.). All in all, the year will go quickly, but it should be fun!

Interesting enough, our stuff is still on a boat somewhere between here and Guam. However, the people who own the house allowed us to go ahead and move into the completely furnished place until they have time to move it out (late October). It worked out for both of us!

Needless to say, the girls are becoming quite acclimated to their new environment! Enjoy the pics!

It's a Beach

All this traveling is rough on a girl!

But we have strong, little troopers (most of the time).

Mark has enjoyed his classes the last couple of days, and Courtney and the girls have enjoyed the sights and sounds of the town . . . and the pool. She has managed to maintain a sense of sanity and stability while living in a hotel room. We have now lived out of our suitcases for nearly a month. However, hope is on the horizon since we have secured a house in Kissimmee. The landlords are even going to leave furniture in it until our furniture arrives!

Since Mark didn't have classes today, we decided to visit Destin. We happened to stumble across a very nice beach, changed into our swimsuits, and enjoyed the waves (well, I'm not sure if Katelee enjoyed the waves or not). We played in the waves, played in the sand, and ate some lunch before returning "home" for naps. All in all, a great day . . . and a great way to avoid doing laundry!!!

How to Spend a Week in Orlando

We arrived. We arrived safely. We arrived after 3 days of driving. So, how did we spend the following week? We got back in the truck and drove around some more! We ended up staying Southwest of Orlando in a town called Davenport. Unfortunately, the houses in which we were most interested were on the Northeast side of Orlando -- an hour drive. So, every day we packed up the girls, gathered up teddy bears and snacks, and drove around the town looking at houses. We finally found a house, filled out the applications, and we are waiting to hear back from them.

How did we celebrate? We stuffed all our clothes back in our bags, stuffed all our bags back in our truck, and stuffed all of us back in the cab for another road trip to the Pensacola area for some classes.


However, today, we had a different strategy! We woke up at 3:00 a.m., and we hit the road by 3:45. We were afraid the plan was not going to work as designed when both girls were awake and chatty at first, but they both settled back into peaceful slumber -- for another 3 hours! We didn't dare stop the truck until they woke up, which was just in time for a much needed bathroom break.
When we checked into our Holiday Inn Express at 10 a.m., they were very nice. They had a room ready, and they even upgraded us to a suite! SCORE!!!

Now, Mark can attend his classes while Courtney and the girls enjoy the beach, sun, shopping, and pool! Hopefully, we will have a nice house waiting for us when we return to Orlando.


The new pics are on our phones, which will be uploaded as soon as we learn how! Until then, enjoy these.

Traveling Family

Well, minus some mall vehicle maintenance issues (who really needs a clutch) and a few small toddler meltdowns (I would be fussy too in a car seat that long), we are making our way to Florida. We had a great couple of weeks in Missouri playing with the grandparents, and now we are on the road. We stopped south of Nashville last night, and we are southern Georgia tonight. By tomorrow, we will be in our 10-day rental home (until we find a home to rent). The last leg should only be about 5 hours (without stops), so we will not get up super early tomorrow. Yeah, sleep! We have had fun swimming the last couple of nights though to help relax from a long day of driving.

What does Katelee think of all this travel?

Welcome Home Shots

Successful Fishing

Peter Pan

Corn Dog at the Fair