Memorial Day Vacation ... Day 1

We were able to escape the flat lands of Clovis over Memorial Day weekend and find the mountains of north central New Mexico.  We rented a great adobe house in Dixon, NM and stayed several days.  It was situated at the base of a mountain, which was well explored.  In fact, within 15 minutes of arriving, the girls headed up the 6,200 foot hill.  We settled into bed a little late that night, but that turned out to be common since it didn't get dark until after 8:00.  And, since the house had many windows, it was quite light at night and early in the morning.  More about Day 2 later.     

Rough Road Trip

It has been a tough few days on the road for the Taylor clan.  We headed out on Thursday for a funeral in Missouri.  Courtney, the girls, Grandma, and CJ all packed into the truck for the trip.  Unfortunately, one hour into the trip, Olivia's stomach decided it did not like what was inside of it.  Thus, she puked.  One kid down.  Then, later, CJ evidently decided that looked like fun and copied her.  Two kids down.  We knew Katelee was safe though, because she got the ball rolling two nights earlier.  Grandma made it all the way to Missouri before she followed suit.  Three down! 

We relaxed on Friday and let everyone recover.  Then, on Saturday, we hit the road for KC with Grandma Donner.  We stayed at a hotel with a water park in it, so the girls wore themselves out before bedtime.  Unfortunately, bedtime did not come until way past their bedtimes, and sleep was a little hard to come by (partly because of the police escorting a room out at one in the morning). 

The funeral for Mark's step-sister was held on Sunday, which was well attended by all of her friends and family.  The service nicely honored Rebecca while encouraging others who may be considering suicide to seek help from those around them.  Then, it was back on the road for the Taylor clan.

Unfortunately, we did not make it back home as planned.  Tuckered out and needing rest, we stopped in Kansas.  This served us well since powerful storms hit southern Missouri, which is our usual route.  We did get rested though and headed out on Monday for the last leg of the trip.  Of course, stopping frequently for food and potty breaks slowed us down a bit, but we made it home.  And, we made it home with only one more puke session.  Katelee got sick and lost her breakfast.  Virus or bad OJ?  Not sure, but it all came out.  Fortunately, we had just stopped at Wal-Mart and stepped out of the truck when she let it fly. 

And now, with both girls in bed, we will rest back in our wonderful bed too.  It's good to be home.  Thank you Lord for a safe trip.

School Program

Olivia's end of year school program was today, and Olivia did great!  They sang lots of songs, read some poems, and gave their parents some hand-made gifts.  It was great, and her teachers have done such a great job with her this year. 

Playground Fun

2011 May 231 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Blue Skies

2011 May 198 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Blue Eyes

2011 May 052 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Natural Born Hiker

2011 May 085 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Pretty Princess

2011 May 038 edit, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Grandma is in town

Grandma and CJ arrived in town this weekend, and the kids have had a blast playing.  Today was no exception.  We had a great morning at church, a Mexican meal to call lunch, a quick nap, and then we headed to the park.  We played on the playground for a while before hitting the trails.  The kids rolled in the sand along the way, which offered sites of rabbits, dead frogs, an orange-ish bird, a yellow-bellied bird (can you tell we don't know our birds), and some ants.  The park and PB&J for dinner . . . what an evening!  Enjoy a few of the 253 pictures we snapped!!!

2011 Apr 059 edit 2, originally uploaded by counsel14.

2011 Apr 036 edit 2, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Much Hairdo About Nothing -- Happy Mother's Day

Well, Mother's Day has rolled around again this year.  And, in keeping with the tradition set last year of having a girl's day out (last year was pedicures/manicures), the girls headed to the spa and salon.  While Courtney enjoyed a therapeutic rubdown (massage), Olivia and Katelee began their transformational haircuts.  We had a fabulous stylist -- actually the owner of the salon (Hilltop Salon & Spa) -- who was great with the girls. 

After the massage, it was Courtney's turn in the chair.  Meanwhile, Mark took the girls to DQ for a wonderful treat of blizzards.  We came back to find the process only beginning for Courtney.  It all was well worth it though.  We returned home and the girls played with the neighbors in the sprinklers while dinner cooked on the grill (hot dogs). 

Of course, what better way to end the night than a glass of Sangria?

Camping . . . kid style

The girls went camping last night . . . sort of.  They decided to sleep outside last night on the trampoline.  Since the day temperature was close to 90 degrees, it certainly wasn't a problem going to sleep.  The wind was blowing nicely, which probably felt good as the girls bounced around their beds until nearly 9:00 p.m.  Then, they snuggled into their sleeping bags, closed their eyes, and went to sleep.  They were greeted this morning to 50 degree temperatures kissing their noses.  But, they quickly thawed out in front of the TV watching cartoons and eating breakfast. 

Good morning sunshine!

Inner Peace

Some doctor on tv this morning said the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started.

So I looked around my house to see things I'd started and hadn't finished, so I have managed to finish off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, a pockage of Prungles, tha mainder of bot Prozic and Valiuminun scriptins, the res of the chesescke an a box a chocletz.

Yu haf no idr how bludy fablus I feel rite now.
Plaese sned dhis orn to dem yu fee ar in ned ov iennr pisss.
An telum,u blody luvum.!! Xxx

It's Windy and Cold Today

2011 Feb 204, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Ok, it's only 60, which isn't quite "cold," but it is chillier than it has been. I thought Katelee captured this sentiment well.

Easter Block Party

We live in a wonderful neighborhood, and we have been able to get to know our neighbors with some fun backyard parties.  Today was an Easter celebration, which translated into wonderful BBQ, super side items, delicious desserts, chaotic kids running everywhere, and (of course) an Easter egg hunt.  The girls had a blast and may have gone into sugar shock several times throughout the night. 

Bug of the Day

Momma Spider?

Bugs

The girls are on a kick of collecting bugs -- mainly roly poly and little black beetle bugs.  Similar to kids hauling a cat all around the house, our girls practically maul these little bugs as they pick them up and put them down and pick them up again.  They generally want to put them in a glass or container and keep them.  We have a "no bugs in the house" rule, as well as a "let them go before you come in" policy.  Today was the big one in terms of bug collection though.  In fact, I believe Olivia named him Black Eyes.  I'm not totally sure what it is . . . beetle?  roach?  water bug?  Not sure.  But, he did his time in the cage, and then he was released to the wild back yard.  Who knows, maybe he'll be caught again another day.

Saturday

The girls had a wonderful day of playing today while the parental units dashed East.  Thanks to Miss Abbey, Olivia and Katelee hooked up with some other children and had their first (of several) Easter egg hunts today.  They also managed to get transformed into butterflies.  They were a bit reluctant to wipe their slates clean before bedtime.  Meanwhile, Mark & Courtney picked up an old friend from the airport, enjoyed some good Japanese hibachi, made a quick jaunt of shopping, and cruised back to Clovis.  All in all, everyone had fun!

Kids, kids, kids . . . and a ball

It has been a while since our last post mainly because we've been quite busy.  Courtney has been playing nanny/babysitter for some kids lately.  It has been fun having all the kids, and the girls love the extra playmates.  But, it does take some extra time and attention.  We did find enough time to finally get the tether ball up and going.  Grandma Donner actually called a tire company and had them send a used tire over.  Then, we filled it with concrete and let the ball whirl.  The kids have had a ball!