Off to Cousins Camp-6:30 am

An early morning get-away.  About 6 hours into the drive, Drew asks "Exactly how LONG does it take to get to Utah?" I think he thought is was a long drive - like as- a long drive to Tahoe:))

Memorial Day Weekend

Another great trip. We had special visitors, Grandma Colette & Grandpa Hank. The kids also had a great time with the frog we found on our "night walk" so much fun - the frog almost got kissed! I love these photos of Wes too, not only because of my cute grandparents in the back seat - see how much fun they are having. This actually is Wesley's "fun face" :)) He's normally a happy smiley 2 year old, but when he's having extreme fun, or it gets to exciting, he goes into serious mode. Don't be mistaken in thinking he wants to get off, if you even attempt it- he'll throw a major terrible two tantrum. What? Doesn't it look like he's having fun?

Grandpa's Hank 80th!

Our wonderfully talented, amazing grandparents.

For his birthday gift, Uncle Brad (not Donald B.) put together a photo/journal over all his life. Everybody contributed and it turned out to be a spectacular, priceless treasure:)

Grandpa Hank and his harem!

In true Taylor fashion, this was no regular party, it was an amazing musical preformance by dear friends and amazing talent. It told the history of Hanks life in music, it encompassed his faith, his heritage, his missionary experiences and even a few pieces from his stay in the south. Dueling pianos, stunning vocal solos, strings, a sweet poem by Grandma Colette, and an amazing choir. Luckily the choir backed up the one family song. Here we are trying to look like we are singing.

Here is Megan telling us to pull it together and sing a little louder:) So funny!


After was dessert and on all the tables were some recent and classic photos of Hank. This one is on of my favorite. I think it's on a beach in Rio - can you spot him? Can you guess who I inherited my flammable white skin from?

Bad lighting and and taken on an iphone didn't help:)

We love you Grandpa Hank - you truly inspire us to become better people. Happy Birthday!

Annual Pre-Christmas City Trip

Our traditional night trip to the city, with a new comer - soon to be a family member:)) Yes it's Ryan Barlow - Nikki's fiance!! Wahoo. We showed him the usual rounds, Blondies for pizza - cable car ride, Ghirardelli's for ice cream sundays - Union Square Christmas tree and a street car to get back to BART. Everybody but Wes had a great time. That night we were just frustrated with how miserable Wes was, but it turned out the poor little guys had massive, double ear infections - but no fever. What bad parents!





Our traditional night trip to the city, with a new comer - soon to be a family member:)) Yes it's Ryan Barlow - Nikki's fiance!! Wahoo. We showed him the usual rounds, Blondies for pizza - cable car ride, Ghirardelli's for ice cream sundays - Union Square Christmas tree and a street car to get back to BART. Everybody but Wes had a great time. That night we were just frustrated with hw misrable he was, but it turned out the poor little guys had massive, double ear infections - but no fever. What bad parents!

Day-4 Grand California Adventures!

One of the most amazing parts of our reunion was staying at the Grand California Hotel. It was so close to the parks and the pools were AMAZING. We ended up eating at and swimming at the pool for lunch and dinner several days!! It was the perfect place to cool off, take a nap and refuel in the middle of the day.


Can you see the ketchup on her face?


We did keep the employees pretty busy! I think all together the Taylors had 15 rooms, 2 suites, 1 large common room and a ballroom. So they knew who we were, but they also became familiar with the Edgren portion of the Taylors. Sammie Lou had a life guard jump in after her (unnecessarily, in my opinion:), they had to file a report for that. Wes decided to throw a pair of goggles and a library book off our balcony, we had to call for help and they had to strap on climbing gear to get. Another report was filed. Then Brad lost Cole, he found him 15 minutes later SURROUNDED by Disney employees. Yep, had to be questioned for that too. I think they were happy to see us go:)

Wes's favorite spot - the balcony of our room.


Not only were we able to get into California Adventure 45 min early, we also got priority seating at the Aladdin show and got to stay after for another private meet and greet of the cast. Drew was sure to get ALL the signatures.


Sammie Lou LOVED Jasmine.


The Rocket are always a hit, with young and old.






Cousin Love


VIP seating for the new World of Color show.


The Taylor Clan.


As usual, we were the first ones in and the last ones out!!

Day-3 Disneyland

On Day 3 of the Taylor Reunion we went to "The happiest place on earth"

Waiting for early entrance.


Off to Nemo first, get the new rides in before the crowds hit. Good thing Uncle Porter is watching our kids. Sometimes I get so excited, I forget to watch all 4 of them (or any of them:).


One of the many V.I.P. perks we got was private meet and greet with Mickey.


Knowing that we were getting a few character interactions, we bought one of those autograph books. Drew took the job quite seriously, he was determined to fill it up:)


We didn't get in line fast enough for Sleeping Beauty (one of Sammie Lou's favorites). So I got a shot from a distance.


We did however ALL make it for Tiana:)


Matterhorn


We also got reserved seating for the parade. It was awesome - we didn't have to wait for a spot we just showed up and we had our own elevated private area - large enough for all 68 Taylors!


Brad was VERY excited to ride - It's a Small World. Carters favorite ride.


Brad and Ann, thinking of jumping the rope to get on our boat.


This amazing family reunion happened thanks to my Uncle Brigham (he works for Disney - ever heard of a movie called Pirates of the Carribean? - Yea, it was his movie. He has a bunch of other ones too.) Anyways, they're youngest son was a little nervous to go on Indiana Jones. In true Taylor fashion, both his parents made him ride it. As you can see, he didn't love it, even though his mom kept trying to convince him "YOUR FINE!" the whole ride. You can see it on her lips.


Yep, we got VIP seating for Fantasmic too!


Kate and Wes sharing popcorn during the show.


After the show, we had to hit Space Mountain 1 more time. Sl was sooooo excited to be tall enough this trip. Although Carter, didn't really enjoy the "high speeds" :)


Here's a picture of the photo the computer took on Space Mountain. She rode it several more time and LOVED it, but I think the first ride was a bit of a shock:)