The Office

Spencer and I are looking forward to another great season.

Tonight's the night!

Taylor's 5!

Grandma's presents...
and Grandma's birthday cake. We are spoiled!
She wanted a purple cat for her birthday, but we could only find this grey cat with a purple ribbon.

I made these cupcakes and took them to Taylor's classroom.




She also loves "footie pajamas", as we call them. I had to find some in her size!

A big Thank-you-for-the-presents hug!

Here she is at school on her b-day.

So Taylor got invited to Brooklyn's (a school friend) birthday party. The date was set for Sunday 12-3pm. I asked Taylor what we did on Sunday. Then I asked her which choice Jesus would want us to make on a Sunday.

My sweet girl, without one word of complaint and without one moment of hesitation, said that the better choice would be to go to church. I was very proud of her.

Yay for Free Pizza!

We got free Round Table Coupons at our library (We love our library!! We go to the Fig Garden Branch).

We were on our way to get pizza and the kids were getting hungry and impatient. McKay kept saying, "I want pizza! I want pizza!!" in a grumpy way.

Spencer got tired of hearing it, I think, and teasingly said, "Nope. No pizza. Too bad."

There was dead silence for three seconds and then McKay exclaimed, "No, too GOOD!!"

It was really cute. You had to be there.

The Divine Institution of Marriage

I found this article that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints put out and thought you should read it.

Especially if you live in California.


http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-divine-institution-of-marriage

Three random pics

Taylor loves Grandma's dogs, Chico and Lexy.

{Oh and by the way, we call her "Taylor Ann" at school because there is another Taylor in her class, Taylor S.

I don't want Taylor to be known as "Taylor H." for the school year. Not cool.

Taylor Ann is much cuter, don't you agree?}

Maren playing Grandma's piano.

Maren can do the pig-tail thing now!!! I love it.

Family Night

We try to have a Family Night on Monday nights each week. Now that we have a routine down, my kids KNOW when Mondays come around are anticipating an evening together. First, we have a lesson. Dad gave a little lesson on plants and what they need to thrive.

We have the kids sit on their "cushions". We have found this to be very effective in getting them to stay in one place while we are trying to teach them....although they aren't quite as good at sitting still as portrayed in this picture, I must admit.

Then we sing some songs. Taylor is leading. When she conducts in large movements, we sing as loud as we can, and when she uses small movements, we sing softly. The kids love it.

We went in the backyard and planted a seed. We talked about how to nourish the seed so it will grow. Well, a week later we checked on our neglected seeds and had to talk about the consequences...the soil had dried up and our seeds were "dead".

We usually play a game together. McKay likes UNO the best....although I don't think he gets it yet. And Taylor likes Memory. Maren's usually in bed when we do the game.

Last but not least we always have a treat (that is corn bread and honey if you were wondering). This is a key element to a successful night.

Yay for Family Night!

Oh yes, and speaking of planting, I did plant a very late-in-the-season "garden". I planted at least 10 different things and only two are thriving. Sad. I have to work on getting my thumb green.

First Day of Kindergarten

Taylor loves school, but I'm sad to have my little one away. It has been an adjustment for all of us. Overall, I do enjoy having a Kindergartner!

Dad walking Taylor to class

The classroom.

Mrs. B. with Taylor.

I'm a school Mom! I have loved going to help out on Thursdays.

I look forward to PTA meetings.

Taylor's proud of her backpack. She picked it out herself.

She's doing great in school. We're proud of her.