So, everytime I complete a post I always say how I'm going to update more. Well, once again way too much time has passed and I have failed to do so. Christine, a friend from church, lovingly pointed out many weeks ago that I need to do this more. I checked out her blog and she posts almost everyday. So my dear friend Christine, here I go.
July4th. Like said, it's been a while since we posted. We drove to Panhandle to celebrate the festivities with my parents. Here's an adorable picture of Taylor waiting for the parade to begin.
This girl came home with more candy than she did last year at Halloween. She was really attached to Elmo this summer. Now she is hooked on her Care Bears. She has Whoopsie Bear, Funshine Bear, and Loyal Heart Dog. All three have to go together though. So, it's interesting seeing her carry all three around.
We entered Taylor in the Little Princess Contest. Sbe looked so cute! She was waving at Granddad. She wanted to go down the stairs and see them, I had to chase after her. It's funny now. I think she was the cutest girl out there!!
Dad and Jackie entered the Free Throw Contest. Dad got second and Jackie third. They had a lot of fun. I was slathering sun screen on everyone. Needless to say, no one got burned!!
They have a sand dig for the little ones. They hide money in this huge pile of sand. The kdis dig and whatever they find, they keep. Taylor did ok, but she really just wanted to play and didn't care about the money. She is starting to figure what out what money is now. Daddy gives her all his pocket change every night and they count it as they put it in her piggy bank. It's starting to get full. She likes to put money in fountains to make wishes most of all. She loves the Plaza because of the fountain. I have to say, that's one of the reasons we like it too.
We spent many hours this summer on the sand volleyball court practicing for a mud volleyball tournament to benefit the Sheriff's office. We put a team together from the credit union. Needless to say, mud volleyball is nothing like sand volleyball. We were getting pretty good at the sand, but we lost both games in the mud. It wasn't just mud. There was about two feet of water on top of the mud, so it was more like water volleyball. It was still fun. We sunscreened everywhere except the part of my hair. I had a terrible burn, it blistered and everything. I won't forget that again, I hope!
Here's our team photo by the ACFCU banner. We had a lot of fun, and I'm sure we will do it again next year. Valerie, Evette, Stephanie, Valene, Me, and Jackie. Our shirts had names and numbers on the back. Super cute!
Taylor has discovered Wonderland. I mean now she realizes that there are rides there and she LOVES it. We went late on night and we got in for a dollar a piece. She even got to ride every kiddie ride. When we had our company picinic, she rode more rides than we could count. She was finally tall enough for all of them. Even some of the big ones if Jackie rode with her. She really wanted to go on the Pirate ship, but Mommy said no. I really don't think she is big enough for it yet, maybe next summer. Her favorite is the Frog Hopper. Most kids were crying when the ride started, not Taylor. She cried at the end when it was over. By about the 15th time, she realized she could get off and get back in line and ride it over and over again. She hardly had to wait at all. We closed the place down that night. It was so much fun!
Taylor and Jackie, me too, are crazy about mashed potatoes. After I make them, they each get a beater to lick. It's funny to watch them lick them clean. Taylor is starting to like to help in the kitchen. She is a cery helpful girl. She says, "Mommy, can I help you?" I say, "sure, get your apron and a chair." When she first got it, it was called a neighbor, instead of apron. I guess they sound alike to her.
Another thing Taylor discovered this summer was Jump N Jive in Amarillo, and Jump N Jungle in Lubbock. She loves to jump in these inflatable jumpers. She will climb all the way to the top, she's not scared at all. We had a blast running and jumping all over the place. One of the jumpers had a hole in it and it lost some air while we were in it. Jackie and I kinda freaked out, but not Taylor. She didn't even notice it.
What summer is complete without new shades? We looked and looked for new shades for her. We found these finally. She likes to wear them upside down. Probably because it makes us laugh! She can put them on by herself and hang them on the front of her shirt like Chickie does.
My Gandparents and my Aunt Allene came down from Phoenix for a few days. We had a blast getting to see them and spent time together. It was Jackie's first time to meet them and they hadn't seen Taylor since she was about 9 months old. It was a great visit. Taylor was a little confunsed by two Granddads. So she called the older one, "Other Granddad." It was too cute. She showed off and they loved it. I'm so blessed to have gotten to know both sets of my Grandparents. I have great memories and I will always cherish them! I know I need to make more time to see them. That's something I'm working on. Jackie was so happy to finally meet them. The guys got to watch golf and it was good fun for them.
We got some free tickets to a Dillas game from the credit union. We went to the game and it was so much fun. Taylor started to squint her eyes when smiling. I think it was a phase because she doesn't do it that often anymore. It was kinda hard to find a place for them to pose without a beer advertisement.
The place wasn't that full. We had about half a row of seats to ourselves. It was great because it gave Taylor some room to move around. Our dear friends Rod and Susan were there with their kids Travis and Celia. So we got to spend some time visiting with them while watching the game. The Dillas won so it was a great way to top off the evening. After the game, we were all holding hands walking out of the stadium and Taylor said, "Mom, (she never calls me Mom, it's always Mommy) that was awesome, thanks!" I was so proud of her and her good manners! Plus, I love it when she has a blast doing something new.
I have had these coupons in my purse for one free bowling game for months now. We have been trying to talk my parents into going, but they haven't been able to. So finally, we decided we would just use them. They had the cutest shoes for little ones! The socks were huge on her, but it made for a cute picture! She actually liked the shoes. She didn't want to take them off when we were done.
She sat very paitently on the counter while we were putting our shoes on. She was laughing at our shoes. I can't believe how cute she is.
We had a good time. We had a hard time aiming this contraption, but it was fun. Taylor pushed it over the foul line a few times. She did pretty good about waiting her turn. I mean, she's only two, so I was very impressed. She loved "Ball-ing". That's what she called it. We saw someone on TV bowling and she said, "Mommy can we go ball-ing again?" So, I think that was another hit! Jackie and I didn't bowl so good. Taylor actually got a better score than us. One game was plenty. She was tired and had a blast.
This year was the third year we participated in the Race for the Cure. It was a very fun day. My friend Stephanie from work came with us. Taylor has done the race every year she has been able! I think that's a great tradition to coninue on. My parents went to Dallas to hang out with my sister, so they couldn't come. Jackie's such a great sport about participating in all these things with me. I love that about him. He's so involved and willing to help others!
Taylor did walk, or run, some of the race. She rode in her stroller and on our shoulders. She did the whole thing. She didn't complain one time. Stephanie had the experience of hanging out with a two year old. Taylor liked her a lot though. The next day, she wanted to know if we were going to pick up Stephanie again.
The next day we drove to Lubbock for JJ's birthday party. We got the invitation a few weeks ago and Taylor opened it and said, "Look it's Jump N Jungle." She recognized the logo from the place. She has been looking forward to this party ever since then. When we got there, she told the lady checking us in that JJ was her second cousin. Where does she come up with this stuff?? Jackie and her jumped in all the jumpers and did the huge slide. I got a good video, but it's not digital so I don't know how to get it on here. See that big bandage on Jackie's finger? He cut it at work and had to have stitches. He sent me a text message saying he was headed to the ER, and he might need a few stitches. After, I got over the issue with him texting that to me instead of calling, I stopped by on my lunch break. He said it wasn't a big deal at all. Well, about ten minutes before I was headed back they finally called him into a room and he unwrapped the finger. Oh my goodnes, it was not a little cut. He split the entire end of his finger in two. I could see his bone. So, I called work and we spent the afternoon together in the ER. He had xrays two times. And they had to irrigate it. Which, was terrible. I have a pretty tough stomach, but I had to get up and leave during this part. I won't even describe it. He got stitches. They had to put them in his fingernail. They will be in three weeks before it's all said and done. I'm just so thankful he's ok and it's not worse!
Here's the difficult part of having a very independent strong daughter. She made up her mind she didn't want to be in the group picture at JJ's party. She refused to stand up and smile, so what do you do? I let her have her way, after I tried to talk her into participating. She is usually so good, so I just chalked it up to the terrible twos and laughed it off. Good parenting? We thought it was ok.
After the party, we had to stop at Krispy Kreme. I LOVE this place. Jackie doesn't really care for it, but he was a fabulous husband and went along with a smile. Of course, we had to wear the silly hats! No trip is complete without them!
Taylor and I are so blessed to have an amazing man like him. He is truly one of the best things God has ever done for me. He is strong when I'm not and so completly crazy about Taylor and I am so thankful for our wonderful life together!
Taylor had a chocloate one with "sprinklers". It was a perfect ending to a fun-filled day!
This weekend it really flet like fall. It was cool and breezy. A perfect time for a trip to the pumpkin farm! I really love this stage in Taylor's life. She's becoming her own person. What I love most is when she hugs you and says she loves me totally on her own. It makes it all worth the effort. She can carry on a conversation and loves to play and laugh. Spending time with her makes all the stresses melt away and helps me focus on what really matters in life.
On Saturday, we were ready for some fun! This place was new to us this year. It was a great time. They did charge full price for Taylor which kinda irked me, but it was totally worth the eight dollars a piece.
They had lots of things to do. They had these barrels pained like cows attached to a lawn tractor that pulled the kids around in. Taylor had a really great time on these. They had a HUGE inflatable pumpkin for jumping. They had a rabbit farm. There were about 24 bunnies and they were cute to watch. There was a golden goat bridge. The goats would climb on top of the bridge, I had no idea they could do that. They also had a maze. They had a map and so it was much easier than ones I had done in the past. It was great since we had Taylor. We found all 12 checkpoints. It was fun. She was so funny pushing through all the leaves. She liked being able to run a little bit, but she never got too far away.
My favorite part was the pumpkin patch. We spent a long time searching for the perfect pumpkins. We ended up getting four and some little gourds. It was so fun seeing how Taylor had to look over each one to make sure it was what she wanted.
I looked over and saw her sitting on pumpkin. I asked what she was doing and she said, "Mommy, I need a break." So she sat on the pumpkins for a while. It was very cute.
We had a successful trip to the patch. It's a great family day! It really got me in the fall spirit. We put our pumpkins outside with a scarecrow. I must say, it looks pretty cute!
Jackie and Taylor had to put their heads in the circles. They are so great together. It's so great to be able to just relax and be silly together for a while. This is the great stuff life is made of!!
I have been unhappy with our bathroom decor ever since we first put it up. I finally found something I really liked and that seemed to fit more with the rest of the house. We have been looking everywhere for the black liner. We finally found it today. I'm so happy with the look. I wish this picture did it justice. It's to nice to have a place to decorate and make homey for my family. I really enjoy it.
Well, that was our summer! We had a great time and I'm so thankful for the many memories. I really enjoyed not having school. This semester I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I have been stressing and not asking the Lord for His strength. Today Jackie was so great and just listened and helped me sort through a lot of my frustrations. He even helped me work on organizing the office a little more so my work area wouldn't be so crowded. I could not do what I'm doing without such a strong man by my side. Honey, I love you and you have been an amazing husband so far! Hopefully, it won't be this long until my next post, but if it is, that'll be ok.
The retired jerseys. We spray painted the sleeves and stunk up the whole building!! They were really cute though~
Here's our crowd of people. We all took turns drawing people. It took us two whole days, but it's really cute. We kept it, just in case we need another crowd for something. It's with our tornado from last year. Don't think we will need it, but it's hard to trash it when you work so hard on it! Jackie helped me get some tarps and paint a baseball diamond on it. We taped it down in the lobby. It was funny. Lots of members were afraid to walk on it. Guess they thought we were remodeling.
