Play Dates...

Today was an exciting day in the Taylor house. Tim has been gone all week and he wasn't suppose to be back until late tonight. So I let the kids each pick a friend to bring home from school to play. They were so excited they were bursting at the seams for Friday afternoon to come.

Every fun play date has to have a good spread.

Rugby invited his friend Dakota. Dakota is Rugby's blonde equivalent. They were full of energy.

This is Zoey's friend Jade. She is Zoey's pink cheeked twin. I just love these two little bursts of sunshine.

This is Izzy and Breckyn. This is the girl that helped Breckyn come out of her shell last year. She also introduced Breckyn to soccer and she is a great friend. You can tell B is pretty excited to have her over.

Stupid Door!

Last night the boy's door to their room got jammed. The little stinkers hang on the door knob like monkeys and now it's all tweaked. It got stuck so, I unjammed it and shut the door so the dog wouldn't get in a chew their slippers. A few minutes later the boys went to get into their room and the door was completely jammed. You may recall we had this problem in Breckyn's room a while back only B was in her room when it happened. One ladder and a few tools later she was out. This time no one was in the room to help from the other side.

Of course I already had the boys stripped and washed before we realized what had happened. I had also cleaned and folded all of the laundry so everything they owned was basically in that room.
I couldn't handle any more nudies so I made Rugs put on Zoey's robe. She was totally grossed out that his butt was touching her robe. I think she'll be scarred for life.

This is his triumphant moment! Thanks Timmy for being our own personal Mr. Fix-it! Next time I think I'll vote for the chainsaw. It would take less time...

It's Summer Time!

Tim has been telling the kids that he's done with winter and it's officially summer for the Taylor family. So today, in true Taylor spirit, we went out to start our annual "spruce up the yard" business. We thought we'd begin with a trampoline.

The kids were so excited!

Rugs and his sweet moves.

Z (who claims she is jump challenged) is getting some good air.

Breckyn doing some splits.

We tucked it in towards the back so that the kids wouldn't get any ideas with the zip line. I think it'll be a nice addition to my favorite back yard.
A special thanks goes out to this guy who put it all together. You rock!!

If you notice Em is not in any of these shots. He had some technical difficulties. He was inside showering. He told me, "they jumped me so high, it made me pee!" We'll be working on that one...

Happy St. Patty's...

The kids got all excited about the holiday today. They were suppose to wear green to school of course. I did my best to spruce them up a little.

My little Irish men.

B and Z

The whole silly gang. Any day were they can dress up is a good day for them.

My Kiddos...

Here's the crew before school this morning. I know it's random but I think they are pretty cute.

In other news, our hamster Scuttles died today. He was a good little friend and we're glad he is at peace now. We love you Scuttles!

My mad little man...

Rugby came home from school yesterday very tired and cranky. He was having a hard time functioning with the other kids. (A.K.A fighting and yelling a really lot) So I sent him downstairs for a little alone time with his crafts. He came up with this. ...and that's about how the rest of the night went too.

It was only a flesh wound...

Chloe is all smiles here but Monday morning was a different story. On the way to the car she tripped and fell into the pressure washer. She landed on the wand holder. It made a hole in her head about the size of a fruity pebble. (Not a cut people-- a full on HOLE.) After a lot of freaking out and a little bit of discussion, we decide to take her in to the doctor. I'm trying to coach her in the car that it isn't that bad and if she's good she'll get a sucker. When we finally get there Chloe marches up to the receptionist and announces her arrival. She points to her head and says to the lady, "I got ouchie, you got suckers?" Then came the hard part. They had to papoose her down to the board to make sure that she didn't baby ninja the doctor. If they would have left her in any longer I'm sure she would have gotten out. She had already worked her hands out by the time he was finished. She ended up with 4 stitches and a big ol' band aid. (Oh, yes, and she did get that sucker too.)

It's a miracle that this is her first set of stitches. Yet another reason why she should have been named after me. (This pose look familiar Mom and Dad?)

Family Night Ice cream

Jodi and I decided to combine our Family Night's tonight and meet for ice cream at Culver's. Our husbands were gone, so we gathered the troops for some fun bonding.

The famous corner booth.

Chloe had an ouchie today (story to come later).

Em was lovin' the ice cream. He's our party animal.

I love the little kid face explosion with treats. It's so cute!

Z, our entertainer.

MJ and her sweet momma.

The cheeser twins. These two just love each other.

... and another successful Family Night comes to a close. We love you Barlows! Thanks for sharing the night with us.

Hat Boy...

Em came home from school today with this sweet hat.

It's a St. Patties day hat that he colored himself.

Em and his puppy. This kid cracks me up! He is so cute!

Chloe and Emerson

Chloe came to play with her friend Emerson today. The two of them play so well together. They decided to play sword fight today....

Emerson goes in for the attack...

...but don't you worry, Chloe can hold her own and send the boy running.

These two cheese balls love to squirrel with each other. They are very fair with their play time. Earlier Em was playing dolls with her and then they switched to swords. They are both going to be quite well rounded I think.

Notice anything hiding in my laundry pile? This is one of the places Rusty tries to escape to when he is hiding from the kids. His other favorite spot is the shoe closet. (smart doggie)

Wild Animals Beware!

Tim -vs- the opossum

The Taylor house where every day is an adventure.

The Creativity Conference

Tonight was the creativity conference at the kids' school. They invite all of the kids to bring something that they have created to show off. They also have little work shops for the kids to be creative and try new things like improv and bracelet making. It's a fun night for the whole family.

Breckyn teamed up with her friend Ali and made jewelry. She loves to bead and she loves to give away all of her creations.

Rugby made slime and passed out slime recipes to everyone. All the kids had a great time playing with his samples. It was a proud moment for Tim.

Zoey wanted to cook again. She made no-bake peanut butter bars. I thought the name needed a little spicing up so we went with "Zoey's Peanut Butter Whammies." It was a real crowd pleaser. She was passing out recipes like mad.
Maddie and her friend Emma dressed up their dolls to look like different cultures from around the world.
Caleb went with the pinewood derby theme. He got a chance to show off his medals and impress the other boys with his sweet skills.
All the boys took turns running the cars down the track.

...and of course what would a talent display be without their biggest fan. Beans was all about zippin' around to see what everyone had.

Great Job Creative Kids!

Bacon Time!

Emerson will only eat cereal and a small list of other things. He is always asking me if I made "barf chicken" for dinner again. (That's how much he likes my cooking!) Quite recently he has added something to his list of "edibles." BACON!

This is his new favorite food. He calls it a bacon sandwich. It's just toast with bacon on it. He is officially Tim's offspring.

This is how he eats it, all bacon and a little bread. (He's worked into eating a little more bread but definitely not the crust-- that's just crazy talk.)The weird thing is, this is the only kind of meat this kid will eat. Move over cereal-- here comes the bacon!

This is how sad our dog looks without his coat. He likes to sniff in the snow and when its powdery he gets it all over himself.

Hence, the coat.

It also doesn't hurt that he looks super cute with it on.

In other news, both of the girlies had play dates this week. This is Z and her friend Brianna playing dress-up tea party. They rummaged through all of my jewelry to look their best for the party. They are both entranced with lip gloss, so they piled that on too. Fabulous girls!

Breckyn and her friend Ali had a blast. They are both older than the other kids so they had fun ruling the world together. All of the other kids fell in love with Ali. She is a great little girl who was very well behaved. She is Emerson's new favorite person. It was a little funny for me because Breckyn's middle name is Allie (as in my mom). So calling them for snacks and stuff felt a little weird.