Taylor Times

Easter 2011

2011-05-01T11:29:00.001-07:00

These are two of the worlds most beautiful girls!!! I love them so much and they love me. There is nothing in the world that is better than the love of your beautiful, amazing, wonderful children!

All the pictures came in backwards and it's too hard to rearrange them . I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out. Here is Easter at Grandma Pam's with the cousins. Uncle Nick helping the girls find Easter Eggs

He's just as much a kid as they are. All the kids love their Uncle Nick! He's so much fun!

Chyler was so cute finding all her Easter Eggs.

The kids were tired of pictures and just wanted to go outside and find their eggs.

The Three Taylor girls. Man are they beautiful!

Easter Morning at home. Don't really have much to say about it, so mostly you just get to enjoy the pictures. YAY! Daddy and Chyler after opening Easter Baskets

Makayla playing with her FAVORITE gift. She absolutely loves her "Punzel" doll as she keeps calling it. I have braided her hair over and over. She caries that doll around everywhere.

Makayla spotted an Easter Egg.

Chyler was so cute finding her eggs. She got a little bored after finding 6 of them.

Cute girls finding Easter eggs Easter morning. The Easter Bunny hid them in the back yard this year. Was a beautiful morning!

I am so grateful this Easter to remember my Savior and all that he did for me. His Atoning sacrafice, followed by his crucifiction then crowned by his resurrection from the dead made it possible for me to be with my beautiful family forever. I am grateful to know that Christmas and Easter have real meaning. I'm grateful for my membership in His true church and for my testimony, and to know that we are lead today by a Prophet and Apostles just like when Christ was on this Earth. I love my family, and I love my Savior.

10 YEARS!!!!

2011-05-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

On April 20th 2001 Nathan and I got married in the Las Vegas Temple for Time and for all Eternity. YAY. On April 20th 2011, we celebratred our 10th Anniversary. YAY! So I thought for our 10th Anniversary, it would be fun to get our wedding cake (cuz we really didn't get to eat the original, it was enjoyed by our families the next day without us. Thanks!) So I got a hold of the place that made our original wedding cake and they said, "No Problem!! We make a 10th Anniversary cake to look just like your original wedding cake." YAYAYAYAYAY!! I was so excited!! That was my big surprise for Nathan. I loved my original wedding cake. It was a square, with a hexagon on top of that, then a circle on top of that. The icing was Ivory (or cream colored) and it had silver fondant stars with little silver candy balls all over it. The center was a bavarian cream/whipcream filling with fresh strawberries. Yummy! Simple, but perfect! I loved it! So the thought of getting to have it again made me soooo excited!!
So, April 20th rolls around and I go to pick up the cake, soooo excited!! They bring me out a white iced cake, with icing swirls and brown dots on it. Pretty, but NOT MY CAKE! So they go back and try to fix it. EPIC FAIL! Apparently the lady that I spoke to did not write down the instructions so they just made whatever they wanted. Below is the result.

Needless to say, after they tried to fix it I was so upset I just took the cake, got in the car and cried. Well, I took it home and thought, at least we can still enjoy it. We cut into it to find not JUST fresh strawberries, but also Kiwi, Mandarine Oranges, and Raspberries. I know some of you are thinking yummy . . . us, not so much. So I called and got a little upset at them. The lady I originally spoke to answered the phone, apologized over and over herself and promised me the correct cake the next day.

Here is a MUCH better representation of what my original cake looked like.

This is still not 100% correct, the balls were totally wrong, but it was so much closer that I was satisfied. Plus the filling in the middle was correct so things were much happier.
On our wedding day, my mother (thankfully now I realize) threatened Nathans life if he were to even attempt to smash the cake into my face. He gladly abliged and on my wedding day I stayed pretty. :-) Well, 10 years of marriage later, I was ready to smash the cake into his face. Hee hee hee

You can trust me, I swear. Look how sweet and innocent I am. Tee hee hee

Oh, sweetly feeding the cake. What got missed was the MASH!!! (our photographers did not get the smash) That's right, I smashed it into his face, fortunately for him, he had taken a big enough bite that his mash was litte and not too bad, mine on the other hand . . .

It kinda went everywhere. Buttercream icing doesn't like to come off very well, it's BUTTER. The cake was yummy, the mash was fun and here we are, 10 years later still laughing and having a good time! I love you Nathan and I'm grateful that yo uhave found it in your heart to put up with me and all my crazy for the last 10 years. Hopefully you'll keep it up!

Long time no . . . see?

2011-04-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a really long time and a lot happens in a year, but i will make it short and sweet with an update on all of us and some pictures to enjoy. We are still here, in Las Vegas (at least for the time being). We are trying to get out of Vegas but still don't have a job ANYWHERE to go to. Nathan is staying busy with side work. He did get a job for a bit but the company was crappy and the bosses were C R A Z Y! So he stood it as long as he could, then couldn't stand it anymore. :-) He is much happier doing side work and he keeps getting a lot of it so it's keeping us a float here. He is still the YM President in our ward and enjoys that very much. He's a good president and loves the boys and being able to be involved. His girls ABSOLUTELY love him, all three of us. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father and we love him for how hard he works and sacrafices for us. Me, I'm still the same ole crazy Shannon I have always been. I have been diagnosed with a disease called Hashimoto's, but don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. All it means is my thyroid is dead. I have HypOthyroidism. That is opposite of what most of you think I have. I should have weighed 400 lbs and had a much harder time getting out of bed (than I do ;-) ). They warned me that once I got on the medicine, I would lose weight, but actually the opposite has happened (I've always been a bit backwards) I was able to put on some lbs that I had been trying to for a long time! And I really have much more energy that I have had in a LONG time! It's pretty great! I still sing with The Saints Unified Voices and love every minute of that! I am so uplifted when we do presentations that I don't want to come home to "normal" world. I am also still in the Young Womens Presidency and get to work with some amazing Women and Young Women! I spend my days at home with Chyler everyday and I love it! She is getting so big and fun it's just a great time all around.

Makayla is the same funny girl she has always been! She just keeps getting smarter and smarter everyday! We're not huge fans of her 2nd grade teacher (which after having an AMAZING 1st grade teacher is a real disappointment). But inspite of all that, she is working very hard at school and knows so much it kills me the things that come out of her mouth everyday. She is so animated and funny, she keeps us laughing. She also ADORES her little sister, who in turn thinks Makayla is the greatest thing on the planet. Chyler calls her Sissy and you can hear her running around the house calling for her "Sissy" at any given moment during the day. I LOVE it!

Chyler, oh my Chyler! She is so funny, so strong willed and so into her own things its fun. She and Makayla are very different but in a great way and we love her so much! Everyday is an adventure with our Bug. She is so cuddly when she wants to be but when she's doing her own thing, dont bug her! I absolutely adore this little girl and am so grateful that I am able to be home with her and enjoy her while Makayla is at school. We have fun.

I had to share this picture because this is what happens when you leave your 7 year old, unattended with a sleeping 1 year old. Those are Cinnabon cereal swirls stuck to Chyler's face. We all got a good laugh out of it, especially Makayla. Her favorite subject in school is art, so she is just letting her creativity flow wherever it can. :-)

So, for our final bit of info on the Taylor clan, we are expecting family member number 5. That's right, we are pregnant again and having a baby in October. And, what I am almost positive about, is Nate's little boy, finally. He's been feeling a bit out numbered with three girls to him. We don't know it's a boy for sure yet, and as soon as I do, I hope to let you all know.

Well, thanks for catching up with us, and hopefully now that I am feeling better, i might actually start updating our blog again. Till then . . .

craziness

2010-06-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that I didn't run away or fall off the face of the earth, however, my computer has had massive issues 2x in the last few months and I wanna scream. Right now my computer is frozen in a weird way. And of course all my pictures and EVERYTHING is on my computer! GRRRRR. So, I PROMISE that I will post pictures of cute Chyler WALKING!! That's right, she is walking?? Anyway, I will do that as soon as it's better, I promise.

Oh & I have to give Aunt Cole a shout out . . . hey Nicole! We love you!! :-*

Kids!

2010-03-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

So Makayla is funny and witty, a little too witty for her own good. The other day she was eating strawberries, and kept going in the kitchen to cut the "leafs" off and then come back in the living room. Well at one point, after eating about 15 strawberries (the girl can down an entire pack from Costco in one sitting!) I hear her voice from the kitchen saying,

"Um, yeah, about this strawberry mess in the kitchen, Don't look at me."

and comes causally walking back into the living room with her strawberry in hand and innocent look on her face! Where do kids come up with this stuff?!?!

It's happened!!

2010-03-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Alright ya'all, here she is . . . crawling!! At 7 and a half month's!! She is soo cute isn't she.

Chyler, just cuz she is cute

2010-03-05T16:38:00.000-08:00

Some cute pictures of my baby girl face Chyler bug! She is getting . . . well not big, cuz she's pretty little too, but she is getting mobile. She is scooting all over the place and it's freaking cute! Here she is just starting to sit up. Enjoy.

road trip nightmares

2010-02-22T09:09:00.001-08:00

Last Friday we decided we needed to go up to St. George. We did actually need to go up there, Nathan had to get the tools and equipment out of Grandma & Grandpa Taylor's garage finally. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to go visit the some friends, and eat at the Pasta Factory while we were there (WELL worth the drive to St. George, I'm just sayin). Anyway, since it was going to be a quick trip, Nicole decided she and Ryiah would go with us. See our plan was to go in the morning and be home by 5. We had a ward party that night that we wanted to be at. The key to those last two sentences is PLAN. Never plan anything. Something will go wrong, and you'll never make it home when you PLAN to.

Let's back track a bit. For a couple weeks, Nathan's truck would make this weird, high pitched noise, not so much a screech, but a noise. It would make the noise for a minute then go away. Also, his brake light was always on, and two weeks ago, his ABS light went on. Not good signs. We had taken it into Tire Works to have the brakes checked and the tires rotated, but they said the brakes were OK but would need to be replaced in the not too distant future. Well, they were actually right. The brakes weren't too bad, it was the hubs, and let me tell you, when the hub barrings go out . . . so does EVERYTHING ELSE!!

As we were just entering Utah, right at the point of entry, there was a HORRIBLE screeching noise, and suddenly, Nate was holding the steering wheel to the right just to make us go straight! Being in the back seat, I could feel the "grinding" that was happening, and luckily Nathan was smart and pull us off the side of the road, quickly. He got out of the truck and there was a HUGE plume of smoke coming out of his drivers side tire. Not happiness. There was no more driving the truck!! So, we called AAA, and my dear friend Evelyn to come rescue us. Poor Makayla was having a melt down. She was so scared!! Nicole and I were laughing and taking pictures. What else do you do? Nathan was over dealing with the truck and Makayla wanted her daddy, so she was with him. Evelyn came and got us girls and kindly let us use her car for the day. We did get the tools picked up, we did get to see the Despains at least & we did get to eat at the pasta Factory. We did not get home by 5, we got home at 10:30, and the trip cost us A WHOLE LOT MORE than we;d had planned. Good thing we had just gotten our tax return, otherwise, Nates truck would still be in St. George & we would be a one car family. We definitely count that timing as a blessing.

Well, here are some pictures to enjoy!

New Beginnings

2010-02-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

On February 17th, we had New Beginnings. I was in charge of it and did it as one of my Personal Progress projects. I have been working on it since November. I think it went really well. I had some really good feedback, and there were tears, so I think it was all okay.

The theme was, "Oh the Goals You Can Reach!" The room was set up like an airplane, 2 seats, 3 seats, then 2 seats. The invitations were airplane tickets with seat assignments. I made "in-flight safety instructions" for the program. I had all the leaders dress in black pants and white shirts - like flight attendant uniforms, and got wings from my dad.

I started off by telling everyone to turn off all electronic devises and securely place all carry-ons under their seat. Then a phone went off, and I was asking whose it was, and telling them that the plane would crash because it would interfere with the electrical circuits . . . IT WAS MY PHONE!!! I never have my phone on noise! It's ALWAYS on vibrate, except tonight! I was so embarrassed! They laughed, and I'll probably never get to live that down.

The night started off with the Bishop and all YW leaders singing a song, re-written to "Oh the Thinks You Can Think" from Seussical. I can't upload the video, but here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_wOgT8FBTc Needless to say, they laughed really hard! Then I had all the leaders introduce themselves, and the different YW Classes as well as the value experiences they had completed. The YW then had to get up and talk about the Value Experiences they had completed and how doing that experience made them stronger and have more courage. They did AMAZING! I'm so proud of my girls. Then I gave a talk on PP. Why we do it, reasons to love it and how it helps us in our lives.

I really learned a lot about Personal Progress and myself in doing this project. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and making it fun and creative for all my girls. I really hope they got something out of it, cuz I sure did.

The bishop was the captain of Southern Hills Airlines (that's what I called our flight), which is why he is wearing my dad's captain's hat.

The Laurel, Mia Maid & Beehive statements have changed and here they are. You can't read them, but they are pretty great.

We provided treats and snacks that you would get on an airplane.

This is the table with the balloons in the color of each value: Faith, White; Divine Nature, Blue; Individual Worth, Red; Knowledge, Green; Choice & Accountability, Orange; Good Works, Yellow; Integrity, Purple; Virtue, Gold.

I put together a "trip/destination" wall with all the values listed and a bunch of pictures of life goals that you can achieve because of the different values. Below are a bunch of pictures of the night.

Over all, I think it was pretty well received and hopefully everyone felt the spirit. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do it. I have mixed emotions about it being over, am relieved and saddened. Guess I'll have to start in on something new. ;-)

The Cabinets

2010-01-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

So for all of you wondering why Nathan has been in Hurricane, UT for the past three months (and for those of you who had no idea) here is the proof that he has been doing something.

He and his dad have worked so hard! They designed these cabinets, cut, built, installed, sanded, re-sanded, stained and re-stained & re-stained these. They are quite amazing!!! Grandma Taylor is sooo excited to have a place to put everything in her life - I think she would have a cabinet to put Grandpa in if she could get him to stay there! LOL

My very cool brother

2010-01-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

On October 9th, my very cool little brother broke his leg. It was not a good day because Halloween is his favorite holiday and he goes nuts!! He had to have surgery and now has metal in his leg holding the bone together. Well, back to the part that he is very cool, he decorated and went crazy anyway. The kid is soo creative and nuts! Here are some pictures followed by a video.He carved that pumpkin himself.
The wooden box would rattle whenever anyone would walk past, David built it completely! Seriously impressive!
Scary skeleton man that has a video below.
I think this is my ex-boyfriend. ;-)

He made this thing, not from a kit, he saw a similar thing on YouTube and decided to make it. Seriously, the kid rocks! It was fun sitting in his house and listening to kids scream as they came up to his house.

This was obviously during the day, but it was cool!

Halloween

2010-01-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

Halloween this year was fun. Makayla KNEW she wanted to be Velma from Scooby Doo, so the hunt was on to find a costume, unfortunately when we found one, Mak's comment was "She's not as pretty as in the cartoon." She was thoroughly disappointed until we found the Barbie Mariposa Costume, all was right in the world again.

I also KNEW that I wanted Chyler to be a Lady Bug. Do you know how hard it is to find a new born costume? It was rediculous!! I searched online (which I'm apparently not good at), went to several costume stores and had no luck. Then, 2 days before Halloween I went to Target, gotta love Target! I wandered around their crazy, messy costume section and came upon the CUTEST Lady Bug costume! Yay!! So below are some pictures from Halloween. Enjoy!

Makayla's best friend Lexi. They are so cute together at school and church.

Daddy doesn't like to dress up. I got him to last year, but this year he was just fine holding Chyler-bug.

I found a costume, I had fun being an Angel/devil, or as Makayla called it, a "Dangel." Kids are awesome!

Me and Mak heading home from Trunk or Treat. It was cold.

My sleeping Chy-bug in her stroller. The costume was plenty warm until there was Apple Cider spilled on the end, then it was time to get her out. All and all it was a fun night. I love halloween.

Christmas

2009-12-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

It's almost Christmas and this year I got all my Christmas shopping done in November. First time ever. Now that it is the 22nd of December, I know why I never get my shopping done that early, because the whole month, I have continued to find things that I want to get my children, husband and friends! It's dangerous. Where I did so good financially with Christmas presents and budgeting, it got a little thrown out the window!! Doh!!! Oh well, tis the season right?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!

Heads up

2009-12-04T12:10:00.001-08:00

I have just posted 3 new posts, so read them all. I will be doing another 2 after I upload my pictures from my camera, but lets be honest, probably won't be for a week or two. :-)

Enjoy!

We've lost our minds!

2009-12-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

So my mom's dog had puppies, and even though we don't like her dogs, the puppies were just too cute to pass up. We got Bindi. She is the runt of the litter and the cutest & sweetest by far! She was born 3 weeks after Chyler (Aug 29th) and even though I didn't really want to deal with 2 babies, Makayla really wanted her so we made a deal with her and if she kept her bed made everyday for 2 months she got Bindi as a surprise. She was very excited and really does love her puppy. Yes, we named her Bindi after Bindi the Jungle girl (Steve Irwin's daughter). We really liked her name and thought it sounded better as a puppy name than a little girl name. Well here she is. She is now 3 months old and we really are happy that we have her.

He claims he was suckered into getting the dog, but the truth is, he loves her. He hates most other dogs, but Bindi is so easy to love and a really good dog. She is already potty trained and obeys really well for the most part. She is still a puppy, but is pretty good for a puppy.

Road trip 10/09

2009-12-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

So we went on a 10 day road trip. We went from Las Vegas to Boulder CO where we stayed with Aunt Allison for 4 days. We had so much fun there. After that we went over to Steamboat Springs, where we may be moving to next summer. Nothings for sure yet, but we wanted to check it out. From there we headed to Bountiful, UT, my old stomping grounds. We got to see family and friends there. Then moved on Orem where we stayed with the Wrights (and I got sick), then we headed home, but went back to St. George the next week and stayed with Gma and Gpa Taylor for 4 days. The pictures are not in order but here they are:Grandma Marley. We had lunch with her, Grandpa, Ricky and Aunt Deena. It's always good to see them.
Ellee & Abbey Johnson and Makayla at the Conference center in SLC. It was soo good to see Brent and his kids. I miss them so much and wish they hadn't moved up to Utah, but I get why they did. His girls have gotten so big and I can see so much of Aimee in them it makes me smile and cry all at the same time.
I think this picture was taken in Bountiful, but honestly, I don't remember. This is the problem with not doing these when they happen. :-)
Makayla and Lucy - Gramma Barb and Grandpa Mike's doggy. They were posing for a picture and right before the picture was taken lucy jumped up and kissed Mak on the cheek. It was so cute!
We went to the Denver Zoo while we were there. Makayla had a blast with all the animals. She's a pretty good poser! Here is the Elephant with the "huge nose." lol
Aunt Allison, Makayla and the Elephants.
Mak posing with the Giraffe's. She really liked seeing them, they were so tall.
Here we are at Nate's FAVORITE restaurant Rock Bottom. They let kids make their own pizza's there. It's pretty funny because Makayla wanted sausage on her pizza, but when it came back all cooked, she picked all the sausage off. LOL
Daddy and sleeping Chyler at Aunt Allison's house. She has such a cute house. We had a lot of fun and it was A LOT of driving! I can say that was my first real road trip. When your dad is a pilot, you don't drive anywhere, you fly. We even flew to Ogden from Bountiful one day just for breakfast. So this was a new experience for me, a good one, but new. On the way from Las Vegas to Boulder (a 12 hour drive) we left at 9 at night and got to Boulder at 8 in the morning. Nate didn't get tired until we were 45 minutes from Boulder. He's a rock star!!

Chyler's Blessing

2009-12-04T11:14:00.001-08:00

So I am really REALLY behind . . . again. But here are the pictures from Chyler's Blessing day. It was on September 6th and she looked beautiful! Nathan gave her a beautiful blessing and I am eternally grateful that he holds and honors his priesthood so that he can do this for our children.

This is Great-Grandpa Taylor with 3 of the 4 Taylor babies born within a year of each other.

Grandma Barb. We love her!! My girls love her and I am soooo glad that she was able to come over for the blessing. We always love it when she comes to visit.

Aunt Cole is so pretty!! She finally gave Makayla a girl cousin. Ryiah Bell was born March 25th. We are hoping that she and Chyler will be BFF's. :-)

Aunt Allison!! She was here for 2 weeks!! She looks so beautiful and she wore green on the blessing day for me cuz it's my favorite color! I love you Allison!!!

My BEAUTIFUL angels!!! I seriously couldn't ask for 2 better babies. I'm soo glad that I have 2 daughters and that they have each other. I'm also so grateful for the Gospel in our lives and knowing that these girls will be my daughters for eternity!

All About Chyler

2009-10-27T14:17:00.000-07:00

So, I would be considered the worst when it comes to keeping people informed on my life. Hey, I warned you all in the beginning, so I don't want to hear any complaints! ;-) Just kidding, I love you all for caring and checking up on my blog even when I do slack of for a couple months.

Well, in these last couple months I did have my beautiful new daughter Chyler. She is amazing. We are so glad that she is in our family and Makayla is most excited to have a sibling, but most especially that she is a sister!!

Would you like some of Chy's stats, since we just went to the Doctor today for her 2 month (yes it's late) checkup? Well here they are whether you want them or not:

Head size: 37 cm - 5th %

Weight: 9 lbs 14 oz (skinny butt!) 5th %

Length: 23 & 1/2 inches - 75%

So the basic rundown, she is a tall skinny butt!! I love it! She got 2 shots and one oral vaccination today and so far so good (it's only been 3 hours, but here's to hoping it continues this way) I really hate vaccinations. I know they are necessary and they have helped the US become healthier overall, but I still hate giving my baby shots.

Chyler is such a blessing in our lives and we are so grateful for her. I am grateful also that Makayla is 6 years older because she has proved to be a huge help (sometimes a little too much help). It's also nice that Makayla goes to school all day because it gives me quality time to bond with Chyler.

Here are some pictures from the last couple months:

Nathan is such a sucker for his little girls. He loves them soo much and has a hard time saying no to things they want. He is such a good daddy and I am grateful for his support.

Makayla really loves her and just wants to be close to her all the time. I love this picture because both of their faces are turned towards each other. I LOVE HAVING GIRLS!!

You can't quite tell by looking at this picture, but Chyler had fallen asleep and I put her in her little papasan, well, she has scooted down and her legs were up in the air and she had covered her face with her blanket, it was hysterical. Maybe you had to be here, or maybe you should just trust me.

She's just cute here sleeping on my boppy, which I think is only good for this!

Here is me and my beautiful daughters! they are the joy in my life and I can't imagine not having them. They make me smile when days are rough and they make me love when I feel like I want to explode. Even when Chyler screams all day and Makayla whines, I LOVE THEM!! Thank you thank you for sending me these beautiful girls to teach, love & care for!!!

This is probably the best smile ever!! She has such a cute smile and when you can get them they melt your heart. We love her and are hoping we can be the great parents that both she and Makayla deserve.

2009-08-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, here she is, our little Chyler Bug! Her full name is Chyler Olivia Taylor. She was born on August 6th at 7:47 am. She was 7 lbs and 20 1/2 inches long. She is practically perfect in every way!!!

Makayla is totally in love with her and in fact, we can't seem to stop her from kissing her all the time. We are going to get some professional pictures done shortly so I will have those up and you can see her better. I am so grateful for my family and couldn't ask for a better one!

Blah

2009-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here I am at my baby shower on Saturday. I had lots of people come and I am so grateful for all my friends and family!! I'm a fatty! :-) I'll do more of a baby shower update tomorrow.

I have nothing festive to say at all. I'm still prego. I'm at 37 weeks now and this ending of the pregnancy is very different than Makayla's. With Mak, I had braxton hicks contractions, which didn't hurt for about 2 months. So far, I've had braxton hicks contractions and real contractions for the past 4 weeks!! Real contractions hurt! I don't remember them from Mak, cuz I only had about 3 hours of them and that's all . . . I'm okay with that, this new turn of events isn't the most fun. Also, as of 4 weeks ago, I was 80% effaced, dialated to a 1 and the baby has dropped . . . way low! As of this morning at 10:30, I'm still dialated to a 1, the baby is low, I'm just now almost completely effaced. OOh, big progress - hold me back.

In case you can't tell, i've hit the uncomfortable, tired, honery . . . ya know, all the bad parts of pregnancy. The other day, I cried all day, why? I don't know, there was no reason, it was stupid! Well, I have 3 weeks left until my due date and I am probably going to go till then. However, there is a solar eclipse this week, and they are warning pregnant women to stay inside (the crazy people that is!) LOL. I'll try to keep updated. Love you all!!

Almost . . .

2009-06-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not such a fun day for me. I woke up with an ache in my right hip, which slowly turned into what I thought were braxton hicks contractions, but then those turned into something stronger and more painful. At noon, I finally layed down hoping that would stop them. Oh no, they just got stronger and closer together. By 3:30, I was having strong, hard contractions that were varying from 4 to 5 minutes apart. Please keep in mind that I am currently 6 weeks from my due date. 6 weeks is too early to start having contractions like these. By 430, they were 2-3 minutes apart and were bringing me to tears. At about 5ish, Nathan had called his mom and we'd called my mom and they both said, "go to the Hospital!" Well, i'm stubborn, because I don't want to go to the hospital until they won't send me home without a new, healthy baby in my arms, besides, I knew that as soon as we got to the hospital, the contractions would stop. So, I put it off and put Nathan off, and was just being stubborn, and at 5:46 last night, I had my last painful contraction. I still had a several braxton hicks contractions the rest of the night, but like I said, there was no more pain. Thank goodness, I need at least 3 to 4 more weeks before she can make an appearance without the Dr.'s being not happy.

See with Makayla, my water broke, I didn't have to worry about this whole contraction crap. And to be honest, I don't even remember what my contractions with her even felt like. I really only had them for about 3 hours before I got my epidural. So this whole contraction thing was not so fun. I don't like having to time them. But everyone says every pregnancy is different, so we'll see what happens. I go to the Dr. on Monday and I will tell him about my "exciting" adventures yesterday, and hopefully will have no more this weekend. I'm so excited to meet this little girl and am anxious to not be pregnant anymore, but NOT before she is healty enough to come out.

School's Out!

2009-06-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here is my beautiful daughter on her very first day of Kindergarten. She was sooo excited to start school! No nerves from her, just excitement. I did pretty good on her first day, no tears (well, a little tearing up, but nothing that anyone else could see). School has gone really well for her all year. She only went through about 3 weeks of not wanting to go to school. Other than that, she has wanted to be there, wanted to go and been such a good student.Now this is Makayla on her LAST day of school! She has grown up soo much! She really did love school the whole year and made a lot of cute little friends. She has completely outgrown all the clothes we bought her at the beginning of the year, and even some that we got her at christmas. She is reading and doing math already, she struggles a bit with spelling, but that's cuz she is sounding it all out and spelling phonetically, which doesn't always work, but she tries so hard. Since school has ended hoever, she has been spelling things to me as she asks for something. She does pretty good that way! We are just sooo proud of her!! Now, on her first day, I had no tears . . . However, on her last day, I bawled. My baby was done with her first year of school!! But actually, I blame it on the pregnancy! ;-)

This woman is Makayla's teaher. Her name is Ms. Martha Gardner. She teaches the all day kindergarten class at Tanaka Elementary. She is an awesome teacher!! We are sooo grateful that Makayla was able to have such a wonderful teacher! She really went above and beyond with these kids. Makayla loved her and asked if she could be her teacher in 1st grade too!

Funniest Story EVER!!!

2009-06-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, for Christmas, Grandma Peg got Makayla her own phone. It's little, for a childs face, white with pink polka dots. Nate finally set it up the other day, and since then, everytime the phone rings, if HER phone rings it means it's for her. Well, not only does she now love to answer her phone, she also loves to call people. Mostly me. But, the other day we were sitting in her room with my friend Angela and Angela wanted Makayla to call her on her phone. So I told Makayla her number and as Angela sat in front of Makayla's closet, Makayla talked to her from the other side of the room. They were having a great conversation.

Here's the funny part of the story: after several minutes of conversation on the phone, Makayla subtly grabs a tissue from her tissue box and moves it to her face, we think she is wiping her nose or something, but then I finally notice her hand and it's constantly moving, suddenly she goes, "Angela, I can't hear you, we are having interference," and she hangs up the phone!!! She was using the tissue to simulate static so she could get off the phone!! The best part is she had a dead serious look on her face. I thought I was going to DIE!!! Angela and I were laughing so hard!! Where do kids come up with this funny stuff!!!!!!

Makayla's new hair & 29 weeks

2009-05-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here is my beautiful little almost-done-with-kindergarten Makayla MaQua. She has been begging me to let her cut and I have been saying no, no, no. Finally, it's gotten so hot that I have had to pull is back everyday - well, she hates having her hair done and I got tired of dealing with it, so I let her get her hair cut. We went over to Aunt Cole's and she did it. I thought I was going to die! But after a few cuts, I realized how cute it was going to be. I LOVE HER HAIR!!! And more importantly, she LOVES her hair! Nathan measured a piece that we cut, it was almost 12 inches long! I love her hair long cuz I can braid it, and curl it, and pony tail it (that is all when she would let me of course). But now, we just have to brush and go. Well, round brush and go. But she's stinking cute!!! I love her!!

I'm now at 29 weeks! And the best news is, as of today, May 27th, it has been 6 weeks since I last had to worship the porcelin god (aka, the toilet). THATS AMAZING!! I don't think I ever went a full week without throwing up when I was pregnant with Makayla. I still have to take my medicine every night before I go to sleep, but as long as I do that, I don't get sick. Today, I do feel a little yucky, and I have a couple of times over the past several weeks, but I'm not throwing up! I have put on about 24 pounds finally, but the funny part about that is it has all been since about my 18th week, so 24 lbs in 11 weeks. If I keep going this way, I'll have put on almost 5o lbs before this baby is born! I put on a total of 55 lbs with Makayla (now I had lost 15 at the beginning of that pregnancy) but we'll see what happens here.

The think I have noticed that I didn't with Makayla is a lot of abdominal pain. The Dr. calls is round ligament stretching. I don't care what it's called, it hurts! I do have a belly band that I wear, and as long as I wear it (cuz I'm not so good at that) I can do a lot more. Nicole and I went to babies r us yesterday and I found a crib I LOVE and the bedding that I LOVE!! The crib we had for Makayla was passed down to Nathan's little brother Nick and is still in use so we're going to need to get a new one (it's okay, cuz Nate's mom bought Makayla's so we don't feel shafted really), but this way, hopefully we can get a new one. It's amazing how many new things they have for babies that they didn't have 6 years ago! I have also decided that there are plenty of things that I don't have a problem borrowing from family instead of buying new, but there are several things that we are going to need to still get new things of. We'll see what happens.

technology . . . grrrrrr

2009-05-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

I am apparently no good at technology. Nathan came and did the EXACT SAME THING that I did, and low a behold, the stupid video uploaded!!

Well, now that it is up, please enjoy my FREAKING CUTE daughter and her class at this little mothers day program they put on for us. I would put all the video's from that day up, but again, technology hates me!

take 2

2009-05-13T14:57:00.001-07:00

I was told that to upload a video I have to have patience. I don't have patience, but I am going to try to upload a video and then leave so that I can not have to sit here and wonder if it's going to happen. So here goes:

Yeah, it didn't work. I left my computer for 3 hours and it still didn't upload. I don't know if it's the wrong format or what, but it doesn't say that, it just keeps saying "uploading video" It's not that big of a video or very long, it's like 45 seconds. Whatever!!

Mothers Day Program & 27 Weeks!!

2009-05-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last week Makayla's kindergarten class put on this adorable mothers day program. They did 7 little skits/songs. I tried to upload a video of it, but apparently i'm retarded and can't get them to upload, so sorry. :-( Makayla's teacher is originally from Hawaii and she put a lot of time into this program. Her name is Ms. Gardner and she is amazing! We have Makayla in all day kindergarten and it is so worth it. So anyone wondering if they should do it for their kindergartner, DO IT! In this picture are some of Makayla's favorite friends in Kindergarten. From left: Joshua, Carlos, Emma H, Makayla & Miguel. She really has some cute kids in her class. Although little Carlos needs to watch out or Makayla's daddy will put the smack down on that little boy who wants to grow up too fast! Yes, he kissed Makayla several months ago. But Makayla said no more. She's so funny!

I can't believe that Makayla's first year of school is almost over! She will be in first grade next year and it just boggles my mind that she is getting so big! Makayla will be turning 6 a month after this new baby is born. She is so excited and is "practicing" with her dolly to be a good big sister.

This was at the beginning of the program, they gave all the mommy's their lei's, after a cute song about lei's.

I'm now 27 weeks!! YAY!!! Some days I think time is going so fast, and other days it's not going fast enough! This little girl is getting quite active and having lots of fun wiggling around inside. I'm still enjoying it so that means she's not kicking too hard yet . . . but don't worry, I know it's coming. I have felt much MUCH better with this pregnancy than I did with Makayla. I still have to take my anti-nausea medicine everynight before bed, but at least it makes it easier for me to function. My biggest problem is my STUPID sciatic nerve!! No matter which side I lay on, it KILLS me! It runs down my butt cheek. I guess it's good that it's not going down my leg, but my butt is bad enough. Here are some pictures. These are at Ryiah's (Nicole's daughter) blessing:

Our cousin Melissa is due two weeks after me. How do we compare? She is having a girl also. The Marley side of the family (Pam's side) has gotten 1 girl already this year and will get two more before September. It's funny because Grandpa Marley had 4 daughters and no boys, and when I married into the Taylor family, I was informed that Taylors only have boys, well, i'm pretty sure that that rule doesn't apply to Nate and I. I like it that way!! Nick has 2 boys and Jeremiah has 3. They can do the boys, Nicole and I will do the girls. Works for us!

8 years, 9 days, & 25 weeks!!

2009-04-29T09:24:00.001-07:00

So today, April 29 my hubby and I have been married for 8 years and 9 days. It's been a rollercoaster ride (what marriage isn't?) but it's been good. For our 8th anniversary, we went to Disney Land (kinda easy to do when you have a best friend who lives in LA and annual passes). It was good times!

I didn't do many rides, okay all I did was the Jungle Cruise, which I have come to LOVE being pregnant. Makayla's favorite ride is Soaring over California in California Adventure. She is sooo cute! I wish I had gone on it with them. Nate and Garrettson took Mak on it, and at the end you fly over Disney Land, they said Makayla squealed and cheered and clapped causing everyone in the room to bust out laughing! They said it was so cute! Oh, David and Garrettson met us down there with Chase (Hayden was left at Noni's and it was Tommy's Dad's weekend).

Makayla and Chase had sooo much fun!! We took them over to Tom Sawyers Island, which is incredibly fun! Not if you don't like stairs, but it ireally is cool! You could spend several hours over there with little kids. I don't remember ever really going over there, but let me tell you , it is worth going just for the bathrooms! Okay, the bathrooms aren't that cool, but the hand dryers in there are! I'm not kidding they are not regular hand dryers, they are like something that you put your hands in and it blows the water off your hands like a car wash dryer. It's freaking cool! I made Nate, David and Garrettson all go in there just to experience it. Gosh, the things that amuse pregnant women! LOL

As for the 25 weeks, I am officially 25 weeks pregnant today! YAY!!!! I'm getting bigger and bigger (as you can tell in the above picture) and she is moving more and more all the time. I love it!! This is what makes pregnancy fun! I'm slowly hitting the point where I have the mild freak out about the baby coming out one way or the other, but i'll get over it soon! :-) I can't wait to meet this little girl, and Makayla keeps getting more excited! She will come give me hugs and then give a seperate hug to my belly and give kisses, on my belly button, to her "sissy." I can't wait to see them together!

Oops

2009-04-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

So I realized that I have forgotten to post about what I am having. That's what I get for being pregnant and having no brains left. We are going to have another little girl!!! I am sooo excited, Makayla is sooooo excited and Nathan . . . well, he's fine. :-) He would have really liked to have a son (what dad wouldn't) so he is already planning for the next one. It's really because Makayla already has him wrapped around her little fingers and I think he is nervous to allow another little angel to do the same thing. Don't let him fool you, this little girl is going to melt his heart as much as Makayla!

Our baby is due August 12, and I swear that can't come soon enough! I am loving feeling her kicking and punching around in my belly! It's probably the best feeling in the whole world! I have mostly forgotten how great it feels. I know that in a couple months I'll probably be back on complaining about how much she is beating me up, but for now I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

We do have a name picked out, but I am not telling you at this time. :-) Cuz I don't have too! Just know that we fought over names for a few weeks after finding out she was a girl and when we found this one, it just fits. It's not a common name at all, in fact only 11 babies were given this name last year, and 24 the year before. Some people seem to really like it others really hate it. Guess what, I don't really care, because it's our baby, not yours!!

I will try to be better at updating everyone better now that I am feeling better. We love you all and are grateful for your friendship!! Happy Easter!

Impromptu Family Trip

2009-04-01T11:30:00.001-07:00

On March 18, my brother David had a trip to California, which he decided to take his family with him. Hey, work pays for a hotel for 4 days - all you have to do is pay for DisneyLand Tickets and food? Sounds good to me!!

Well, Nathan, Makayla and I have annual passes to Disney Land so we decided to head down that weekend and join David and Garrettson's family. Jordan also decided to join us.

We thought since we were going to be there, we would see who else we could talk into going. We tried and tried to talk Dan & Danielle into it, but they had made plans with friends to go camping. I ask you, which is more fun, DisneyLand with the Family or camping with friends - my opinion is there's no question - anyway, they couldn't come. So we moved onto mom and dad. They jumped on it.

On Saturday March 21, we all met in Anaheim. Had a nice day out and got to see Cindee! YAY! Love seeing Cindee! and on Sunday, we headed of Disney Land. Now I have a theory, the sun is ALWAYS shining at Disney Land - ALWAYS! So when we woke up to rain, I still had faith.

Even after my parents got to DL and said it was pouring rain, I wasn't there yet, so the SUN IS ALWAYS SHINING AT DISNEY LAND!! Do you see my faith? Well, we finally get there, and guess what, the rain stopped and the sun came out!! YAY!! We had a great day of fun and family!

Now, being pregnant, DisneyLand isn't quite as fun, however, I did get to experience rides I have NEVER been on before - like Peter Pan, Snow White & Casey Jr's Train. The only other ride I did, was It's a Small World, which I've been on before, but they did just redo it. Was a fun day to be sure!! My dad, Nathan, Jordan, David and Thomas all took off to do the Big Kid rides, while the mothers stayed with the little kids and kept them entertained. One of the best parts of the day was when we all enjoyed lunch at the Blue Bayou. It was so nice and all the kids did really good.

And here I am waiting while the kids and Garrettson and Grandma were on Dumbo. I can't even do that ride when I'm not pregnant.

I wish Dan, Danielle, Jason and Stephanie could have been there too. Oh well, was a good time while it lasted! I love my family and had a blast spending time with them.

Compare Isaiah

2009-02-26T10:56:00.001-08:00

Ok, so you all know (or if you don't, you will now) that my dad is quite amazing! He has always worked sooo hard, and I admire him for that. He is also one of the smartest men I have EVER met! He remembers everything he reads. He knows the origin of useless things. That was a book he read, and he really does. Ask him where the paper clip came from.

He also LOVES the scriptures. Ask him anything about the scriptures, ANYTHING, and he can turn right to a scripture and then explain it to you. It's amazing! Since he is so good at it, it only made sense that he would write a book. Well he has. It's called . . . Compare Isaiah. It's about all the biblical scriptures in the Book of Mormon, and why they are in there. It's an amazing book that he wrote several years ago, and ow it is being published! YAY!! It went to print last week and they say in about a month or so it'll be on the shelves. So watch for it in the upcoming months.

15 and a half weeks

2009-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

So, I went to the doctor yesterday. Last week I had a couple issues that caused a bit of concern for me, but not for the doctor. So the Doctor checked the heart beat, and it's good and strong! YAY!! 160 beats per minutes, and my size and the baby's size are about perfect, which makes me feel really really fantastic! Also, hearing the heartbeat is sooo comforting. It makes everything seem much better. Now, we have the ultrasound scheduled for March 12th at 10:45 am. I can hardly stand it! We are going to take Makayla and we hope that she doesn't get creeped out at the black and white images, and hopefully won't have too many "alien baby" pictures. I'll be sure to keep you all updated. YAY!

25 Random Facts about Shannon

2009-01-31T17:08:00.000-08:00

1. I am finally unemployed for the first time since I was 14. And I'm enjoying every minute of it, mostly!

2. I love to sing. Not shocking to most of you, but I do. When I was 12, I was told that I didn't sing well, so don't try! I still love it!

3. I HATE romantic movies, books, tv shows etc. Bring on the horror, suspense, terror and any other weird things. Within that, I also hate EVIL. If it's a sck and evil twisted movie/book/or tv show, I WILL NOT watch. I don't like to feel creepy.

4. I still haven't seen Batman: The Dark Night.

5. At this exact moment, I am realizing that the last three Smallville episodes have ended with Clark and Lana kissing. No, I'm not watching Smallville, I'm catching up on Supernatural.

6. I love my choir family. I am a member of the Saints Unified Voices. They are probably the one of the greatest things that has happened to me in the past 2 years. They are amazing people who have such a love and faith in each other.

7. I have loved completely, totally and utterly.

8. I am obsessed with my daughters toes. She is five and playing with her toes is still one of my favorite things ever!

9. Once you have become my friend, you will always be my friend. I may not be the best at keeping in touch, but I will always love you. I don't think there is one person who I have cared about that I don't still think about often.

10. Magic still fasinates me. Even the simple coin in the ear trick. I love it!

11. I have read the most sick and twisted book ever. I'm not even goign to tell you the name cuz I don't want you to even look for it, but it was wrong.

12. I cannot not finish a book. May take me a year to do, but I have to finish it. Right now Twilight is my nemesis! I cannot get through it, if you're wondering why, please refer back to #3.

13. Criss Angel scares me.

14. I get crushes on people because of dreams. It last a couple days, then is over. My latest was Zachary Levi from Chuck. I still think he is totally cute, but I'm not obsessed with him like I was after my dream about him several weeks ago.

15. I almost always remember my dreams. And I usually have at least 3 a night. I wish that some of them would come true, but I hope even more that most of them never, ever do.

16. I can type 225 character per minute on a 10 key. :-)

17. I have the greatest family in the world, both immediate and extended! I absolutely love and look up to my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, in-laws, grandparents and especially my brothers. I love my brothers!

18. I don't understand how or why my loving husband puts up with me, but I think he is the only one who can, and I love him for it.

19. I don't know how to search the internet very well. In fact, I think my grandparents do that better than I do. I go to the websites I need, and get off. If I can't find it, I ask Cindee. :-)

20. I grew up with Dogs - we almost always had one, now, I don't really care to have one ever again. What happened? Oh and I hate cats! not only am I allergic to them, they are snotty and arrogant.

21. I still think Roswell is/was one of the greatest shows on Television. That and Joan of Arcadia

22. I love living in Las Vegas, but would probably love to move more. As long as it's not to snow.

23. I hate cleaning. I hate it. But I can't stand a messy house, unfortunately, my first statement wins more.

24. I think my brothers and my brother-in-laws picked fantastic wifes!! I love them all!

25. I think Sean Connery is sexy.

Prgenancy, the good and the bad

2009-01-30T09:52:00.001-08:00

So, I'm officially 12 weeks pregnant now. With that came the heart beat on Monday! YAY!! We were so excited to hear it and it is such a comforting sound! My two favorite things about being pregnant are hearing the heart beat and feeling the baby inside me. There is nothing at can be compared to it. For that reason I feel very bad for men. They can never feel that feeling. Not even the Pregnant "man," who is NOT a man - I don't care what anyone says. SHE still has all her girl parts except her boobs, FEMALE!! Anyway, I can't wait to start to feel the baby.
Okay, the bad :-P I am sooooo over being sick. Feeling like crap and being constipated is not my idea of a good time. Good news is that I am moving into my second trimester, so things should start to ease up a bit. I was sick with Makayla until after I delivered her, but it did get a bit more manageable once in my second trimester. So I'm keeping my hopes up.
Over all, I love being pregnant and we are sooo excited to have a new little life in our home. Makayla wants, needs, and deserves a sibling. I think she'll be a great big sister and am anxious to see her with the baby. She says she doesn't care if it's a boy or a girl, but would like a sister. She's cute!

The Wedding

2009-01-21T11:24:00.001-08:00

So . . . Dan and Danielle finally got married!! YAY!! Here are some pictures from the day.

Me and Makayla and Chase. Don't the kids look awesome?!? Chase was so cute. When Garrettson took him to get his suit, he said, "I look silly, I look like Daddy!!" He is so funny!

Makayla looked absolutely beautiful! She is very excited to have a new aunt. Now I have 3 sisters on the Swint side! YAY!!

Me and my handsome brothers! Even though i have always wanted a sister, I wouldn't trade these brothers for anything in the world!! I am so proud of them and I love them so much!! And no, we're not really all the same height! I do have 3 inch heals on. I think Dan has Jas and David beat by half an inch!

My four parents! Mike & Barbara Ballard, and my Mom and Dad. Such a great day!

Allison, the one that has been there for me literally since the day I was born. We are 9 months apart and our parents are best friends. She wasn't at my wedding, something that has been very hard for me, but she was able to be at Daniels. I love her so much and am so grateful for her amazing friendship all these long years.

Gotta show off mini me! Chase looks so much like David it's freaky!! They are so cute!

K, that's all for now, but don't worry, i'll post more later. These are just the pictures that Allison took, so they are a bit limited.

It's about time!

2008-12-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, if you can't tell from the Picture, I am pregnant! I'm only about 5 weeks along, but I've been feeling it for about 4 weeks now, and I took a test (or two or three ;-) ) and the results are positive!! I also went to the Doctor yesterday and they confirmed it as well!

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!!!! We are soo excited!! Makayla is thrilled beyond words. She's already planning on the baby sleeping in her room. It's a girl ya know. Just ask Mak, she'll tell ya!

Anyway, thought I'd let you all know!

Friends

2008-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say that I have some of the greatest friends in the whole world. I treasure each and everyone one of you who have ever come into my life I am so thankful for all the good, bad & ugly that you have shared with me and allowed me to be a part of. For those of you who I don't get to talk to often enough, I miss you. For those who I get to talk to often, I hope you know how much you mean to me! I love you all and am grateful for your friendships.

The Madness

2008-11-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

So, for any of you who have talk to me in the last . . . idk, year, you know that I have fully veto'ed the Twilight Books. I love Vampires . . . love suspense, action, thriller and horror - romance, not so much. I really only like/handle it if it's not the main story. I don't seek out movies like the Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe and other such nonsense. Now I did thoroughly enjoy What Happens in Vegas! That was good stuff, but mushy romance, makes me wanna vomit. I've always been this way.
Well, Twilight is mushy romance crap, really with Vampires mixed in. At least no one has ever disagreed with me when I have said that to those who have read the books. Even my best friends in the whole world have been sucked into this madness, and are trying their dangdest to convert me. I'm stubborn, what can I say!
With all that said, I did go to the movie yesterday with about 15 women from my ward and my old ward. It made me laugh so hard to see all of them together and eager for this movie. The best part of the whole thing was when Edward walked onto the screen the first time and THE WHOLE THEATER swooned. SWOONED! It was madness!! I laughed sooo hard. Robert Pattinson did a fantastic job, and when he was in Harry Potter 4 (yes, he was in a movie BEFORE twilight - Cedric Diggory) he was not cute. He still was not that cute in Twilight, better but still the same guys. I will have to admit however, that as the movie went on, I did start to understand the bit of the swoon that went on. It's his personality. There were times when I thought he was incredibly hot!
The movie was good. I was very glad I went and saw it, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. I did also tell all my friends that I would probably read the books after I saw the movie, so I should probably be true to my word, it's just hard. I've stuck to my consistant protest for several months, but I can see the appeal. So, I will probably pick up the books, but I warn all you die hards now . . . if it's as mushy romance as I think it is, the first book is probably the only one I'll read. Again, the movie was good. I enjoyed it. The actors chosen to play the parts were fantastic! The movie was very well done and I do look forward to a sequel.

Adventures

2008-11-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

So tonight, at Makayla's school, they did a free showing of Kung Fu Panda. We've never seen it. Makayla has, but Nate and I haven't, so we decided to go. Hey, free movie and any concessions we bought went to the school . . . which can definately use all they can get! So we talked some of our other friends into going too. It was interesting. The showed the movie on a big screen in the Lunch Room using an overhead projector. I probably would have loved the movie and laughed uncontrollably, but . . .

Well, it was a free movie, so there were tons of people there. Tons of kids, cuz again, it was free and it was at their school. They probably would have stopped talking sooo much if they had turned off the lights, but they never did. Either they couldn't cuz of fire codes and what not, or they just chose not to because there were a ton of little kids everywhere. Oh, and all Makayla wanted was popcorn, they kept running out of popcorn. We literally got popcorn 10 minutes before the movie ended, and Nate had bought it 10 minutes before the movie started!! It was crazy! Oh well!

It was a fun night even though it sounds like i'm whinning, it was an adventure and we gave money to the school, that's what matters. Although we are going to have to rent Kung Fu Panda so that I have any idea of what went on in the movie! :-)

Red Mountain Music Company

2008-11-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

So tonight is a my final concert with the Red Mountain Music Company, 7:00 at Cashman Theatre. The main reason is because I was called last week into the Young Women's Program as Laural Advisor. I'm soo excited and I can't wait! But the activities are on Wednesday nights, and so is rehearsal for RMMC, and I haven't quite figured out how to be in two places at once. The other reason, and this is a very sad reason for no more RMMC, is that Jeffrey, David & Wendy are resigning from RMMC tonight. This will be their last performance. This is very sad news for me. I feel like as long as the choir is going the world is still spinning.

I first got intot he choir in 2002 because of my friend Leah. I have since made amazing friends and grown so much as a singer. Jeffrey is soo talented and has such patience with us. He always directs this choir to amazing heights. David is one of the most talented pianists I have ever seen in my life! You should see his hands when he is playing King of the World. Amazing!! And Wendy, it's rare when you met someone so genuin and sweet as Wendy Randall. She is pregnant with her 5th baby and so I completely understand the decision that she has made. I understand David and Jeffrey's decision as well. I'm just sad.

Thank you Jeffrey, David, and Wendy for the memories, the good times, the confidence and the opportunities that you have given us to be a part of something amazing!

Birthdays!

2008-11-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

So today, November 9th is FANTASTIC day! There are three birthdays that I get to celebrate today.

There is Riley Farr, she is 3 years old today and the third of 4 girls in her family. She always makes me giggle and my very favorite thing about her is when she says discusting! It's sooooo funny! I wish I could put a recording on here so you all could enjoy it. It's awesome! Nathan is constantly asking her to kiss his toe just so she'll say, "Nooooo (with a little scoop), that's discusting!" She's a cutie, and I want to give her a Happy Birthday Wish!

(Riley as Cinderella at Halloween)

Next is Nicole, my beautiful sister (actually Nate's sister, but everyone thinks she and I are sisters) She is amazing and I am sooo grateful that I finally have a sister that is soo wonderful and we get along sooo well. She usually makes everyone VERY aware of her birthday at least 30 days in advance, however, this year she is pregnant with her first baby (YAYAYAYAY) I am soooo excited, but because of this, she hasn't hardly mentioned her bday at all, so I am doing it for her!! HEY EVERYONE, IT'S NICOLE DOANE'S BIRTHDAY!!! Love you Nicole! I am grateful for you!!

(Nicole & Her Best Friend Julie)

Finally, and very importantly, It's Cindee's Birthday!! I did a short mention of this in my previous post, but felt that she needed a full post about birthdays. I was supposed to be with my bff for this fantastic day in which I am sooo grateful for her birth I don't know how to express it properly. Cindee has seen me through good, bad, ugly and everything in between. Our friendship has been tested over and over but I love her so much that there is probably nothting that can occur to stop me from loving her. She is an amazing woman that you all would be as lucky as me to call her a friend. It's funny cuz she and I technically grew up together. We lived two blocks away from each other; went to church together for several years; have gone to the same school since Kindergarten; but didn't become friends until I talked her into going to Dixie College with me when we were the only two Seniors in our Seminary Class at Bountiful High School. We went to Dixie and the rest is history! I am sooooooooo eternally grateful for being the only seniors in our Seminary class, for that is what made us become friends, well, pluss we also had the same car: a 1988 blue Nissan Sentra. :-) I love her sooo much and don't know where I would be without her today! Cindee, I love you and hope that this year brings about amazing things for you!! Have a fantastic birthday and know that I would be lost without you!!

Great Website

2008-11-09T10:53:00.001-08:00

So I've been on the phone all morning with my bff Cindee (It's her birthday! Happy birthday Cindee!!) Anyway, because I couldn't be there for her birthday we decided we'd be on the phone all day. We did ok with that, about three hours this morning. Nate and Makayla were so sweet to let us do that! Anyway, while we were on the phone I was looking through this funny little catalog we got in the mail, it's called Uncommon Gifts. It's got some very funny, very unique gifts in there! I recommend you all check it out! www.uncommongifts.com.

Halloween

2008-11-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I hope everyone had a great halloween and I look forward to seeing pictures! We had a great time. We went to a party at Carie's house (she's one of the founders of MetroMamma). Anyway, the McNeil's know how to throw a party! They had a giant bouncy castle on one end of their street and a hugemangous bouncy slide on the othr end. In the middle was a ton of tables and lots of food! There were a bunch of people there. Carie and Ian have a fantastic neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and they are al friends! It's amazing! There were awesome costumes everywhere. There was fun for the kids, socializing for the adults and just a safe, fun environment for everyone! Here are some pictures:

Here is Pyper (Tinkerbell), Makayla (Sweet Heart Bat), Riley (Cinderella) , and Amanda (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle - Raphael to be exact!) Hannah, Pyper and Riley are Mike & Amanda Farr's Girls.

Mike & Nathan - you get to guess what they are . . . Maybe I'll tell you what they are later. ;-) I want guesses!

Carie McNeil (Wonder Woman - Ian choose it and was VERY excited about it!) Leah Mamone (Cute Dorothy, her boys were the Tin Man and the Scarecrow) and me. Not quite sure who I really am, but someone said I was the princess from the Princess and the Pauper. I just like the dress, my mommy made it!

And finally, the Taylors . . . All of us together!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Forgetting my age and paying the price!!

2008-10-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

So remember when you were 21 and could stay up and out all night and barely be tired the next day? Remember how you grow up and start sleeping more and staying up all night less? Yeah, I apparently forgot that I was 31 on Sunday night and decided to pull an all nighter . . . ALL NIGHTER!! Needless to say, I was up from 7:30 Sunday morning until 5:00 Monday night. Within all that time, I was in full "go" mode . . . super energetic Sacrament service, followed by an emotional devotional and 2 all out, full energy firesides. It was after that that I decided to stay up chatting with friends all night. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast and some really good talks with new friends, but when the alarm went off at 4 am to get ready to get on the bus to head to the airport, suddenly my body went . . . "okay, time to sleep!" It was not good. I made it to the airport, with assistance from Andy, but then about passed out at the airport. Finally got on the plane home, and, well, I can't sleep on planes. I thought, hmm since I stayed up all night I should be able to sleep at least a little. WRONG!!! There were a couple of old ladies in front of us that were talking loudly the whole flight. There was turbulence on the flight as well, which i am SOOO not a fan of, but being as tired as i was, I was able to relax through it. Score 1 for staying up all night. Then I got home and still wasn't able to sleep. I was picking friends up from the airport, helping Nicole, and taking Makayla to the Doctor . It's now Sunday, a full week later, and I am still tired, plus I got a nasty cold and am still fighting that.

Please, someone remind me next time that I'm not 21 anymore!!

SUV Choir

2008-10-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for those of you who don't know, the SUV Choir is the Saints Unified Voices Choir that is directed by Glady Knight. Once a month (usually) we go to a city and do a musical fireside. It's absolutely amazing and I am soooo grateful and excited that I getto be a part of it. I've been in it for a little over a year now and I have made some amazing friends and grown so much!! How could you not when you are out doing missionary work?

Well, this past weekend we were in Seattle. LOVE IT THERE!! And for those of you who think it only ever rains in Seattle, here is a photo proving otherwise:

It was so beautiful! We started our Saturday out eating at this fanstastic little restaurant called The King Fish Cafe, compliments of Bryce - love you Bryce!! It was fantastic! Yummy food!! Our choir filled the whole restaurant!

Our Saturday prformaces were amazing! It's so amazing to be up there and to watch a change come over people in the audience. I really wish that I had gone on a mission! If it was half as good as this, it would have been well worth it! Well, there's always a couples mission when we're older. Anyway, the funniest, yes I said funniest, part about Saturday night, was when the stake president said, "Ya know, I don't say the word awesome very often, but this CD is great!" (He was talking about the One Voice CD that the choir put out 5 years ago) I thought i was ging to die of laughter!! Seriously the running joke the rest of the weekend. My friend Scott came Saturday evening and that was really good to see him. I'm very glad he came.

Sunday was even better! It started off with church at a Samoan ward. Those people sang so well and with so much energy & love that I didn't even want to sing and fight against what they were doing! Even though the whole service was in Samoan, I felt the spirit was so strong! The firesides were awesome! I wonder all the time how it can ever be better than the one that we do before, and yet, it's always amazing! Sunday, everyone was dead on! Gladys was more amazing than I think I have ever heard her! She totally about blew the roof off the building! The audience Sunday @ 8 was soooo energetic! Our soloists were awesome!! When Jay sang Via Dolorosa, I bawled like a baby! It is such an amazing song!

My choir family is absolutely awesome! We have so much fun together! I had spent this weekend getting to know a couple of people a little better. I had so much fun with my new friends Andy Mathusek and Michael Thomas. If you ever want to laugh uncontrollably, hang out with these two! They are in their own little world, but they will let anyone and everyone in who wants to come! Thanks guys for a great time! (Right to left - Andy, MT & Sprout aka Michael Goedel)

Then there is my dear, and amazing friend Leah! She makes everyone look beautiful! She had a line of people who wanted her to do their makeup - and she did it! She is so full of love and life and I totally look up to her. Leah, I love you always!! You're awesome! I also got to room with Rashida. She and I have been friend for about 6 years, and it was fun to be her roomie! (left to right Rashida, me and Leah)

If any of you ever have the chance to see it, don't pass it up!! You will get a renewal of faith and a testimony builder. I have been so blessed by this choir! It has strengthened my testimony every time I get to go.

Patience

2008-10-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need to do another post, but I feel like my life never slows down and every moment I am behind another day or two!!

Quick run down, I went to Sara Bareilles last weekend with my cute friend KT!! SO MUCH FUN!! I promise to write more on that later. Also, I am headed off to Seattle this weekend with the SUV Choir to spread the word there. I AM SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!

I promise that when I get home from Seattle, I will fill in the blanks and give more deets about the happenings and events of the Nathan Taylor clan.

Sunday Conference - 2 in 1

2008-10-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

I missed Saturday afternoon, so there is no report there, and Sunday afternoon I had a roomful of little girls, so the notes are much shorter. But here it is anyway.

Sunday Morning Session:

President Eyring - Unity is coming - it's been the topic of talks for years. "We are doing better," but it will be harder in the future to maintain unity, but we can do it. We can't have unity as individuals - WE have to do it together. Unity brings us joy. 3 principals of unity:

Revelation - the only way our hearts can know the truth
Humble - pride is the great enemy of unity. The children of God have more in common than they have differences. Differences can help us grow
Speak well of each other - "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Elder Hales: Contention - nothing good comes from it. Love our enemies - it takes Faith & Strength & Christian Courage. "Standing with the Savior takes Christian Courage." We must never become contentious when discussing our religion. Meekness is not weakness, it's Christian courage. True disciples speak with quite confidence, not boastful pride. High ground is whee the light is - the first light in the morning and the last light at night.

Keith McMullin: A man filled with the love of God is no content with blessing his family alone - he wants to bless the whole world. Church Welfare Program is heavens help in practical ways. Another way to ask for help is to pray - he won't always take our afflictions from us, but he will comfort us through them.

Elaine Dalton: "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things." Return to virtue. One virtuous Young Man or Young Woman can change the world. We need to exercise more self discipline.

Elder Ballard: Pioneers - Saints driven west. No enemy will stop or frustrate the progress of the word/work of God. we have 13 + million members, and last year (2007) the 1 millionth missionary was called to serve in this dispensation. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. From Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson, the church has gone forth boldly, nobly and independently. Much has been done, but much more is still to be done. We are all needed - we cannot sit back and be idol. We must Believe, work, serve, and overcome and those who came before us did. He isn't asking us to die as marters, but He is asking us to live a disciples life.

President Monson: Nothing is as constant as change. "Lessons in this life help us distinguish between what is important and what is not." There is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today. Do not assume that those around us know we love them, we need to tell them more. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Be happy in whatever place you're in. "No room in the Inn" was not a singular rejection of the savior, just the first - yet He still invites us to come unto him. We need to adapt to changes in our lives, enjoy the journey, Realize what is important.

Sunday Afternoon:

Pres Packer: Saints persecuted and driven out of Missouri. In every nation we are to be law abiding, contributing citizens.

Elder Nelson: Men and women are that we might have joy. We will have joy as we obey Gods commands. "Marriage between a man and woman is sacred It is ordained of God." Salvation is an individual matter - exaltation is a couples matter. The earth was formed and the Church restored so that families could be sealed for eternity. Marriage is not just between husband and wife, it involves God as well. No blessings will be withheld from faithful latter day saints.

William Oswald: 3 Essentials to effective teaching:

Show love to those you teach & call them by name
Teach from the scriptures
encourage the pondering of Gospel truths.

Eduardo Gavarret: Our homes. Family homes, ward homes, stake homes. We have responsibility to help those who aren't here with us.

Carlos Godoy: Testimonies. The spirit is not a loud and booming voice, it's calm, quiet, gentle.

Elder Cook: Unfortunately, i didn't get to hear this one. :-(

President Monson: may we remember the words spoken at these conference sessions. Heavenly Father is mindful of the challenges we face. may we be men and women of honestly and integrity. May we be mindful of others around us.

Sat Morning Conference

2008-10-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

President Monson: 5 New Temples!! Calgary Alberta Canada - Yeah Olson!! Greater Kansas Area, Kansas; Pittsburg Pennsylvania; Argentina (can't remember city name); and Rome, Italy. YAY YAY YAY!!

Elder Perry: Todays world, and getting back to the basics. Such a relevant talk to the things that we deal with today. Modesty, morality, financial struggles. LOVE HIM!!

Sister Allred: How to be a better missionary.

Neil L. Anderson: Faith is a decision. We need to have faith as little children, "except ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter into the kingdon of God."

Marcus Aidaikuis: Book of Mormon - read it, pray about it, follow the direction that our loving Father in Heaven gave us freely.

Elder Oaks: Sunday and Sacrament; Sacrament is our part of commemorating the Sacrifice and atonement of the Lord. LOVING THIS TALK!!! Very specific on how we should act, dress, and treat Sacrament meeting. Spoke directly to the Priesthood holders who officiate over the sacrament about worthiness and preparedness.

Elder Uchtdorf: HOPE!! He is so full of love and understanding. A gentleness that I wasn't aware of in him until RS broadcast last week. Hope is like a beam of Sunlight. With hope comes joy and happiness, with hope we can bear our afflictions. Hope is critical to both Faith and Charity. Hope is the basics!!! "The greater our hope, the stronger our Faith. The more pure our Faith, the stronger our Charity."

Was a fantastic Session!

Happiness & Truths

2008-09-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

So last conference I didn't get the chance to listen because i was having fantastic, and much overdo, girls weekend with friends from College. That doesn't excuse me from not watching or reading, that I know, but this year has been a major growth one for me, and since not watching conference, I have been craving it! Well yesterday was the General Relief Society Broadcast, and once again, was unable to watch it (last night) due to my father in law's 50th birthday party - Happy Birthday again Jeff!! But this time I did TiVo it and was able to watch it this morning. Not as much fun watching that at home as in the church, but it was still uplifting!

The General RS presidency spoke, and they did great jobs!! I enjoyed Sister Allred's talk about Temples - I always love to hear about the Temples, they are amazing and fantastic!! If you haven't had a chance to go, get there!! Even if it's just to the grounds! And I really Enjoyed Sister Thompson's talk on Service. She speaks very well. But the highlight of it was Elder Uchtdorf, who is awesome!

Elder Uchtdorf, for those of you who aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church. He addressed the trials that we face as women, and did not, in the least negate or tell us that they weren't important. In fact, it was the opposite. He told us that every struggle, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is big to that individual, and he understands, and feels for each one.

Admittedly, I am HORRIBLE with short term memory, and won't do his talk justice. But the thing that stood out the very most to me, was instead of waiting and wondering where the answers were to our prayers, he told us to think of the last time we were an answer to someone else's prayers. I thought that was awesome. I have had people come into my life who were answers to my prayers.

While I was going through my hardest times, my bishop counseled me to pay attention to the spirit and do whatever thought came into my mind. I found that the spirit directed me a lot! And it was in all areas of my life. So, I am going to do my best, to continue to listen to that spirit, and hopefully strive to be an answer to someone (or several) prayers. I believe that if we try to do that, our own prayers would be answered, and we would have more peace in our lives.

I encourage all of you to watch or read, especially Uchtdorfs talk from the General RS broadcast. And especially to watch General Conference next weekend. I don't care what faith you are or aren't, there are fantastic words of wisdom taught in those 4 sessions and in this scary world we live in today, a little peace and encouragement is always nice.

I love you all!

Stuff and Stuff

2008-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hee hee hee. I like my titles! Anyway, how bout a bit of updates . . . eh? :-)

Last Wednesday Makayla came home from school happy and ready to play. I went to change her clothes and all down the right side of her body were . . . spots!! Chicken pox!! ("the pox, the pox, how delightful the pox!! - name that movie!!) Well it wasn't delightful, but it also wasn't itchy, and she had no fever. So I called the Dr. They said they won't see kids with the chicken pox, so I had to watch them for 24-48 hours, if it was the pox then they would scab over, if not, bring her in and we'll see . . . yeah right, but I'll get to that story in a sec. Anyway, so she had to stay home from school on Thursday and Friday - no scabbing, no itching, no fever. She was BORED out of her mind!! In fact on Thursday afternoon she asked if she could go play, i told her no and she said, "oh this is BORING! Let's hope this doesn't happen again!" I laughed; Mak is funny! Anyway, Friday, same story second chapter.

Well Saturday rolls around, and I am set to go with Danielle to find a wedding dress (which we found and it's GORGEOUS!! Daniel is going to die!! Anyway, so Nate decides to take her to the doctor. Apparently our original Dr. has moved to California, and has been replaced by an older lady who apparently can't see!! She took a look at them and said, "well it's not chicken pox (duh!) and it's not an allergic reaction (never thought it was) it must be a bug bit!!!" Are you freaking kidding me!?!?! 37 bug bits and she didn't feel a thing and the spots had little white heads?!? She didn't even test them!! Well, it turned out to be Rosiola. It only lasts three days, and honestly, by Saturday afternoon, they started fading. By Monday they were practically all gone!! I'm done with dumb doctors and RIDICULOUS insurance premiums that we have to pay huge deductibles for!! I'm all about moving to Canada!! Veltman, make room for us! :-)

Makayla is continuing to do well in school. She is enjoying it and making lots of friends (and even has a little crush!) She won't tell me about it, but she tells Cindee about it and Cindee tells me. Friday, we had the Fall Festival. That was crazy and fun. Makayla got to do the Cake walk, get her face painted, get a heart balloon made, and have fun with friends from class as well as Thomas and Chase. I meant to take pictures, but during the cake walk, she was dancing around the circle and I thought i was going to die laughing!! It was soo funny! I did video it, but no pictures. Sorry.

As for Nate, work is just busy, crazy and dumb. That's my opinion. Although he was able to come home early and pick Makayla up from school, which she loved! He is now a veil worker at the temple which is nice. Other than that, he still tries to sneak in xbox time, but i told him no more shoot em up games around Makayla. So that's put a major damper on his time.

Me, I'm still working and being busy. I still LOVE my job! MetroMamma is the best job I think I have ever had. I've had struggles and frustrations, but overall, it's amazing!! Perfect I get to take Mak to school head to work, leave work and pick Mak up from school. So in her mind, I am a stay at home mom! It's fantastic!

Well, I think I might have blabbed on long enough. I'll write more often so they aren't as long anymore. Okay? Bye for now!

It's True!

2008-09-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

I got my new computer on monday and it is AWESOME! There are a couple of issues that I have with it that we are trying to wor out, but other than that, I LOVE IT! It's been a hard couple weeks without the computer (we took our home computer down to the office for Snappy Thoughts), and it's really pathetic how addicted we've become to computers. When I finally got my computer back, I had 237 emails (I use this for my work email too).

So the last couple weeks there's been a lot happening. As I stated last time, Makayla had a birthday on the 7th! Her party was on Labor Day, which was perfect! It was a great party and she got everything Polly Pocket that she could possibly imagine! Please note the box of the Polly Pocket Mall that is bigger than Mak! And that's just one!

On her actual birthday, Nick and Elise had their cute little Logan blessed and all the Grandparents and some aunts and cousins came to it too!! It was a fun day full of family, balloons, good food and of course cupcakes!!

I can't help how much I love this little girl!

I had a birthday too. I am now . . . 29! Forever!! No, actually, I hated my 29th year, i'm really 31! Woah! I'm getting old! I like it though. I like my hair, i've put on a few pounds (much needed pounds) and i LOVE my job! MetroMamma is an amazing company and I'm sooo grateful to be a part of it! I am also a bridal attendant at the temple, teach Valiant 9 & 10 at church, and I get to sing with Gladys Knight! What more could I really ask for?! I am having fun with my life!

So much has gone on, and yet at this moment, my brain is saying, "i'm tired, stop typing and lay down." so I'm going to obey my body! Didn't get as much sleep as I wanted to last night, so gonna try to make up for it now!

Hope everyone is doing well!!

First Time

2008-09-15T21:35:00.001-07:00

Okay, so this is Nathan. This is the first time I am attempting the Blog thing. I have spent the last 2 hours setting up Shannon's new Computer. I am extremely jealous!!!!! It happens to be the coolest laptop I have had the privilege to use. Now the Computer is being reposed. Shannon wants to play with her new toy, so I will say adios. Until next time!

Nathan

Mak's Bday, the short story!

2008-09-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm still out a computer and it's making me crazy!!

Makayla's bday party was on Monday (labor day) and was lots of fun!! There were 15ish kids and that many adult as well. My house isn't that big, so we decided to get a bouncy castle!!! Let me tell you all, that was the most BRILLIANT idea I think i have ever had!! Go me!! I'll put up a few pictures, and like I said, i'm still trying to learn more about this whole blog thing, and as soon as I can figure it out, I'll do a slide show of everything. But for now, here are a couple pictures.

The girls all gathered round as Makayla opened her presents. Let me tell you how hard it is to get kids to back up. They all apparently think that they need to be sitting on top of the person opening the presents!! It was funny!

This is Abbey, my friend Aimee's youngest. She looks a lot like her mom!! Parker, Ellee and Abbey (3 of Brent's and Aimee's 4 kids) all came. That was fun as I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to. They live on the other side of town.

I'll write a lot more when I get my computer up, but for now, i am going to go and clean . . . or something. Gotta do something with my day ;-)

Birthday Fun

2008-09-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got to have my FAVORITE meal!! For our birthday's, my mom makes our favorite meal; she's a FANTASTIC cook!! My Favorite is Chili Con Queso! Yummy Yummy!! I only ever get it on my birthday because my brothers don't like it, and since there are three of them and one of me, I fully take advantage of the fact that I only get it once a year . . . on my birthday.

The best part about it though is that my whole family gets together. I realized yesterday that I haven't seen my older brother Jason for probably 3 weeks, and my sister-in-law Stephanie, for almost 2 months! Ugh! I miss them, and they just live down the street!!

Well, dinner was about perfect (not enough in my opinion!) and my cake was great! Cherry Chip cake with Cherry Icing, yum! We just hang out and have a good time. Today is a new try because I'm goign to put pictures in here from last night. Nothing too exciting, and Jason and Steph left before I got any pictures, but here's us being bums!

This is my youngest brother Daniel and his adorable fiance (YAY) Danielle. Yes I did do that right! Dan and Danielle will be getting married on January 16th here in Vegas. We really love Danielle and can't wait until she is officially a member of the crazy Swint clan! She's a lot of fun and has been the best thing to happen to Daniel since his mission!!

This is my sister-in-law Garrettson and two of her three boys. Thomas is the cute one with the Popsicle (he's 8) and Hayden is my super cute, super chunky little baby face on Garrettsons Lap! He was born on May 14th. This is David's family. Can you believe that little baby chunky monkey came from that beautiful skinny thing!! I love Garrettson and the boys, and luckily, they live just one street over from me!! It's so fun. Thomas and Makayla walk to school together (with G & I of course). It's fun.

This pics bigger cuz there are more people in it to explain. From Left to right: Jordan Ballard, practically a member of the Family. Our families are about as close as two families can be. Gpa Mike, Gma Barb and Aunt Allison all love to spoil Makayla rotten! It's awesome!! :-D (those would all be Jordan's Family, and my second Family) Next is Chase, he is a mini me of my brother David and also his 2 year old boy. The kid is just about as cute as a little kid can be!! He is so much fun and full of energy all the time (unfortunately, he fell and cut his eye open last night, it was sooooo no bueno!! ) Then there's Mak, whose birthday is on Sunday Sept 7. She's gonna be 5! Oh, my baby is growing up!! That's my dad who is holding Mak. He's actually quite amazing, and I'm going to have to do a seperate blog all about the AWESOME things that are going on for him right now! YAY! Then there's my mommy. Isn't she beautiful!! She hates pictures, but I love her and I want to show her off. She' probably going to beat me to death for putting this picture up . . . bbbuuuuut, she'll get over it! Love you mom!!

And finally there is Roxy. She is my mom and dad's beautiful little dog. We got Roxy when we first moved here back in February of 00. She was just a tiny little puppy and sooooo fun!! She used to run laps around the house and up and down the stairs. It was so fun to watch her and hear her run around upstairs. Well, Roxy is now too old for her body, and it's falling apart. She has a buldging disk in her back which is causing her to loose feeling in her feet and she will fall over or her feet will fall out from under her. This has all deteriorated REALLY fast. She is probably being put down today. I'm really very sad about it. Although I'm not the biggest fan of dogs, Roxy is an exception and I don't want her to be put to sleep, but after begin with her all day yesterday, I would much rather she be put to sleep than continue to be in pain constantly like she is. :-(

Well, This is incredibly long I know, but it's fun to tell about my family and stuff! Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day. We are going to be celebrating Mak's bday today! YAY!

First week and stuff

2008-08-30T06:19:00.001-07:00

I have a couple minutes before I head off to the Temple to do my Bridal Attending . . .YAY!! I thought I would give a quick update on things.

My computer . . . well, Nate got it up and running long enough to do a complete backup so all my pictures and everything important is now saved. That made me fell A MILLION times better! And I was all excited that he got my computer working. Well, as soon as he finished backing up everything, it died again. It's not even two years old!! But eveyrone says, avoid Dell computers! maybe I'll actually listen this time!

Makayla finished her first week of school with flying colors! At her school they have a Red, Yellow & Green . . . uh . . . honor roll of sorts. Everyday, each student starts out with a Green slip - meaning they are good. Makayla has gotten 5 this week! Yay! But, lets be honest, she does have the Swint gene in her (and the Wright and the Taylor, and the Marley!) so with those powers combined, she's a bit of a chatterbox, and on Wednesday, she did get moved from a Green to a Yellow, cuz she was talking over the teacher. Can you believe it!?! ;-) Those were the only tears shed this week at school, she didn't even cry when I dropped her off her first, second or any other day. She is loving school. On Friday morning we got a moment of "I don't want to go to school," through her tired voice, but Nathan told her the magic of Fridays . . . and that there is no more school for Saturday and Sunday. That, plus her favorite outfit, made her just as excited as her first day. Poor kid, the next LIFETIME of school is going to be long! :-)

We are having her birthday party (and mine . . . sorta) on Monday! 3:00. You're all welcome! It'll be here at my house, and it's supposed to be a beautiful day. Not too hot! YAY! I'm so ready for not soo hot. I will officially be moving in to my 30's age group (after all, 30 is just the finalization of your 20's, but 31 . . . that's into it!). Makayla's official birthday isn't until September 7th, but Labor Day is always a good day to do a party, besides, Gramma Peg works Tuesday thru Saturday @ the temple, so it's pretty much our only option to at least have all the Gparents there.

Okay, i gotta run now and get ready. I have 1 minute before I told myself time was up, and I had to get in the shower! Ugh! Mornings! I'm sure I'll write more later!

Computers . . . GGRRRAAAHHH!

2008-08-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

So I know I started this to write about Makayla and her adventures at school; however, this is also for me to write and vent when i need to. And I NEED to right now.

Computers = pain in the butt = frustration. I got to work this morning, and I use my personal computer at work with my own email address (shannon@metromamma.com) and then I have a work computer that I use for all other stuff. That way Carie (my boss) and I can go over stuff at home if needed. (it's fun! I LOVE my job!) Anyway, computer turned on, was going through all my emails from Vendors, customers and Carie, and all the sudden, my computer went *byoiiooooop* and turned off. Now, it won't turn on. I am hoping and praying that the hard drive is fine, that just my DUMB COMPUTER went "i'm tired, and done . . . goodbye!" I have all my life on there! All my pictures from the past 2 years. I will FREAK OUT! if it's all gone.

With all that said, you are all now going to have to wait for me to get it fixed, or at least get my pictures off it to be able to post any pictures again, which is what I was going to do today. Slide show of Mak's first few days at school. Which she is loving by the way! But I'll do that in another blog, a happier blog. :-)

Giving it a try!

2008-08-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, now Makayla is in Kindergarten, and people always want pictures of her (cuz she's stinkin cute!!) so I decided to try this blogspot thing. Don't know how I'll do, but I'll try. This is all for now, as I'm just getting set up. If it all works and it's the way I want, I'll post more! :-)