Life with the Taylors

Blue Steel

2011-12-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

I must say, this is a better "blue steel" than the original. Sorry Zoolander! Cooper has many many faces right now and He is so stinkin cute!!

LUAU

2011-10-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

I got this crazy idea that a Luau would be a blast so Julie and I went to work to plan a party. We made invitations for our family (one for us, one for my brother's family and one for my cousin Mandy and her family, they could not come :( )

Tony and Shayna brought some awesome awesome island music that really got the party started off right. we all took turns in the surfing photo shoot,

We made some decorations that were really fun!

More photo ops!

Ride that wave Mom!!

Aunt Molly is so good at surfing!!

Cute!

Very Cute!! Showing a little leg!

Tony showing off some newly acquired skills!! Very nice!

We had such a good time. We did the slip-n-slide where Tony made that fun for everyone. he even ripped his sarong pretty bad with a slide and then my Mom took a turn that shocked everyone to pieces and I wish so bad that I had known she was going to do that and had my camera ready because it was pretty much one of the greatest things I have witnessed in my life. We had great company, great luau food, (I am disappointed I did not get a picture of the food table either), great music, and a great time. Our Luau was awesome!!

some random Idaho happenings

2011-10-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

There is a story behind this akward picture. Do you see Julie and Addie at the top. There was a new water park that opened in Rexburg this summer and we went one time. It was pretty cool. Addie really wanted to ride the big water slide and we decided that she was tall enough according to the sign at the bottom of the slide so Julie took her up. I stayed down with callen and played on smaller water attractions with him. After waiting in line for about 45 minutes it was finally their turn and Julie explained that she would go first and that addie would follow and the idiot boy at the top said okay sounds great. So AFTER Julie left he decided to tell Addie that she was too short and could not ride. So we waited at the bottom forever with our cameras ready and finally it was a different girl, not Addie who the lifeguard had told to tell us that she could not go down. So I sent Julie up to get her and before we could get to the stairs Addie had all ready made it to the bottom just bawling. She was uncontrollably bawling. i think she was embarrassed, disappointed, and just upset. I felt so bad for her and I was so mad at that life guard. Especially for letting her go down all those flights of stairs by herself when we were all clearly not there to receive her since we were at the end of the ride. Our trip was almost ruined but after about 20 minutes we finally calmed her down by promising dipped cones after and enjoyed the lazy river for the rest of the time.

We also got to visit my grandparents grave. They were really excited about this. Every time we passed a cemetery back home they would ask me if I knew anyone buried there so I told them that I promised I would take them to see where my grandparents were buried. So we went with my Dad and saw where my Grandpa and Grandma Potter are buried and then we walked by where my uncle Dennis and a sweet little cousin of mine are buried as well. It was a neat experience.

My parents have these this cool wooded area on the side of their house with bird feeders. We liked to watch the birds and decided to make a bird feeder of our own. We made the pine cone and peanut butter thing with bird seeds and it was a huge hit for a few days until Mr. squirrel found a way to get it off its hook and up into the tree. It was funny. We caught him in the act. It was good entertainment.

Of course the kids ran outside right away to try to help the birds get their bird feeder back but he was too fast.

We also helped Tony wash his cars. The kids had a good time with that and really enjoyed the popsicles that accompanied the job!!

4th of July again

2011-10-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July really was a jam packed fun filled day. We had a big family bbq at my Dad's school in sugar City and I was able to see so many cousins an dfamily members that I had not seen in such a long time. It was so great. I am sad that I do not have a picture of them. My one Cousin Brandon is convinced that I don't even have a husband because he never gets to go to Idaho with me. Maybe one day he can be initiated into the Potter family. My Dad froze water in storage type conatainers to make giant ice blocks and we went ice blocking down "potter hill" It was so fun

Cooper trying to go ice blocking. He really was the hit of the party. He was not shy at all and didn't even care if he was near me and just had everyone eating out of his hands. It was hilarious

My aunt carol put together a game where age groups stood around a circle and then money was thrown in the air and the kids had to grab as much as they could. It was like wild animals. They liked it though

Addie Ice blocking

Addie and Zoe participating in water balloon volley ball

Cooper liked finding the remnants of the giant pieces of ice and...

Eating them!

The 4th of July in Idaho would not be complete without a sno-cone. Our favorite Idaho summertime treat. They even bought them with their own money from Aunt Carol's game.

We finished off our night at Tony's house for some fireworks. I think I have action shots of all the kids lighting and then running away!!

Zoe

Keegan

Callen

Addie

Some of the kids did not really appreciate the loud sounds, in fact Addie really...

really...

Really...

really did not like the loud sounds!!

We had a wonderful day!!

Gorgeous

2011-10-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

The weather in Idaho was so gorgeous. We practically lived outside!

Callen learned to ride a bike (although he wanted the training wheels back on when we got home)

We played at the water park ALOT!

And basically lived outside at Grandma's house (this is in their side yard, it was so beautiful and serene. We loved their new house so much!)

5K

2011-10-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Julie and I are preparing for our run/adventure! little did we know...

It all started with the tires
along the way we encountered canals we had to cross with water to our necks, shallows areas of water with hidden drop offs, hay bail walls to climb over, hills, tunnels, a fire jump, an army crawl, a wall climb (oy, that was hard) and...

The mud pit!! I almost took Julie's shorts off here. After this I thought we were done so I told Julie to sprint to the end because i did not want to but as it turned out that was just over half way and we had to do most of it again. It was hard the second time becasue we had rocks in our shoes from the mud pit and our pants were hanging off of us from being soaked. It was quite an experience.

We made it though!! Yay us!!

Julie's friend Mason ran too but not with us. He is too fast!

Next was the 1K that Addie and Callen got to run. I let Julie who is a lot more young and spry take them on their run. Not because I couldn't... Well, she begged me to... Well, I couldn't say no to her... Okay, I was exhausted. I am a horrible runner. I am working on that.

They were so cute and they got to do just a few little obstacles with theirs

This is how we all had to go at the end of the race

And then we all got to wash off in the human car wash before running across the finish line

We all CONQUERED!! I did not get my time because my bracelet fell off my ankle somewhere in the race but that was okay we had a great time and it was a great day!!

How?

2011-10-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

How do I even attempt to catch up? Should I try? I was just looking at my pictures and MAN, did we do a lot of things in Idaho this summer and in Oregon, and with lots of family, then we got home and bought a house, Addie started school, and life has just taken over. Should I attempt a catch up?

coffee pot rapids hike

2011-07-19T22:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a bunch of random Pictures from a beautiful hike we took at Coffee Pot Rapids. Everyone did such a great Job. Julie's best friend Mason came with us and he helped carry Cooper for a while.

The beginning was calm and peaceful like this water behind Callen and then as the water got rough and full of beautiful rapids the trail also got a little more intense but the kids absolutely loved the rock climbing. It was nice on our way out though to see the trail and the water calm back down.

This is a funny story because Olivia picked these flowers Just for Grandma who was quite a ways ahead of her with the older girls and livy was determined to get these to her. It was so sweet.

My Dad taught callen how to throw deer poop. Of course he would. Why not, right? So one time he threw it at someone who did not want it thrown at them so my Dad had to teach him the polite way to throw it and so it went like this:
Callen: Mom can I please throw some deer poop on you?"
Me: Of course Callen, I would love that!"
Callen: Okay, (then he chucks it really hard)
Grandpa did not care about getting hit with poop either as you can tell from the picture below.

this is a cute picture of Callen with his adorable Aunt Shayna. One more quick adventure with Callen that I am not sure I should share with the whole world but I am going to anyway is one time he had to go potty which you can tell by a previous post that he LOVES to do in nature so while he was going he says, "Mom, My wee wee is kind of like a water gun." I don't know where that kid comes from.

We have had a blast doing a lot of fun things and having adventures in Idaho but we still miss our husband and Daddy very very very much!!

4th of July parade

2011-07-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

We have not been in Idaho for July festivities in a long time and we fully appreciated all the patriotism this year. We went to the parade and then had a spectacular family BBQ at the Sugar Elementary school that I do not hav any pictures of right now but it was a blast to see some cousins that I had not seen in a very long time. Then we ended the night with some fireworks at Tony's house. It was great!!

Aunt Shayna painted American flags on the girls faces and Aunt Julie Made Addie this adorable fireworks dress. They had fun grabbing Candy as long as they could get to it before this annoying girl who's mom let her run WAY too far out in the street so she stole all our kids candy because we would not let them cross a certain line. I know we are mean but the drivers were not just going in a straight line, they were zig zagging all over. Julie was in the parade for Mayors Youth so that was fun and then at the end there was an army vehicle that just decided to drench the whole crowd. It was fun!

Blast from the past

2011-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

While I have been at my mom's house I have been browsing pictures on their computer and could not help posting some of these from the past years. They are so precious. I hope you enjoy them.

Addie was super chubby

Christmas 07 Addie and Callen

Addie at 4 mos on her first Christmas

Sweet girl Addie while visiting Idaho during Christmas 06

Addie's first time in the snow, Christmas 06

Addie at 18 mos in our St. Louis loft rooftop club house March 07

Addie and Callen March 07

Callen's blessing day March 07

Addie

Callen

At Grants farm when Grandma and Grandpa Potter came to visit St. Louis

Addie in 05

Blast from the past. This is in 06

The start of our little family in 06

Grants Farm (isn't Addie's outfit cute?)

I liked this because this is again Addie's first experience with snow but it shows the back yard of the St. Anthony house that I grew up in. Good times!!

Love the hair and seriously love the jammies!! Christmas in 06 right before Callen was born. The only Christmas I have been home for since I have been married. Sad but it is just too hard to drive those roads in the winter.

right outside our loft downtown St. Louis right after Callen was born. My Mom was there helping us with the baby and we were walking to the cute little corner grocery store for some yummy pastries!! Fun memories

right after we moved from our loft to our first house in Festus (the one we just sold in May of this year!!)

losing your trousers!!

R Mountain

2011-07-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

This last Saturday we hiked R mountain in Rexburg. In all the time I have lived in Idaho, that is something that I had never done. The kids had a BLAST and were such troopers. So much so, we are planning a big hike to coffee pot falls this weekend. i am really excited. My parents and my brother Tony and his family were with us. Here are a plethora of pictures from the hike.

Okay this was funny, We were at the top and I asked Callen if he had to go potty and he said no so I said well if you do you can pee on this tree and he said, "Well now I do!" all excited. Very funny.

When we got back Grandma put teh kids to work cleaning her railings. She is a big fan of child labor. just kidding the kids had a blast playing in the water while they were "helping" grandma out.

We had a great day. We still really miss our Husband and Daddy. Can't wait to see you Brian!!

Idaho in Summer

2011-07-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

HERE IN IDAHO WE HAVE...

Palyed with play doh I don't know how many times (playdoh cookies are the best)

Had lots of love from Family. Cooper loves his Aunt Shayna!

developed a new found love of dipping. Anything dippable is good with him.

(My favorite one... Guacamole. This one is for you Brian!)

It all started on teh drive to Idaho when my dad gave him some horsey sauce at Arby's, then he demanded the ketchup, the rest is history. Now he will only eat if he can do it himself and preferably if he can dip it.

(This is Chili that he dipped chips in)

At the corner of my parents block. You can see the Temple spire if you look behind Addie. The Temple is exactly .7 miles from my parents house. How cool is that!

Had pic-nics in the park almost every day

Jumped on the tramp outside (they are practically living outside)

Roasted marshmallows with cousins

Cooper liked it!!

Played with random tri-pods and took pictures of everything in sight!

So far we are having an absolute blast, If only Brian were here to enjoy it with us. We miss you Brian!!!

Bishop Potter

2011-06-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday my Dad was asked by his stake president of the BYU-I ward he is currently serving in to bring my mom and come and meet with him. He was assuming that my mom would get called to be in the relief society or something since he has only been a counselor in this student ward for about three months. After what seemed like forever, He finally got home and told us that he had been asked to serve as the bishop of a different student ward in that stake.

Honestly, I could not think of a better person, My Dad is the most calm, kind, spiritual, intelligent, inspiring, amazing person that I know. He is a good example and a good listener. He always follows the spirit and makes good decisions. He is going to be amazing for those students and really give them the guidance that they need.

I got the opportunity to go to the ward he was getting released from on Sunday morning where he gave an amazing talk on laying aside the things of the world as it says in D&C. I hope that those students were really listening because it made me take a look at my life and what is important and how I react to the promptings that I receive.

Later in the afternoon we went to his new ward that he was going to be sustained in and I missed almost every second because Cooper just could not stand to let me be in that room. Finally at the very end my sweet sweet cousin Chelsea came out and took Cooper so I could hear my Mom and Dad share their sweet testimonies. That is such a priceless experience. I rarely get to see my Parents and to get to see them in that setting was just amazing. I think those students are going to adore them.

Later that night we went to his ordination and my Wonderful sister in law Shayna stayed with the kiddos so we could listen and then we all came home for some good food.

Here is a picture on Sunday afternoon after most of us had changed but this is who came to support my Dad in his new responsibility and new blessing in his life. I can't think of a better way to Serve our Heavenly Father than by making such a sacrifice of time and thought while loving and guiding those kids. I love my Dad so much.

Mom, Dad, Tony, Shayna (Olivia), Aunt Pat, Uncle Rick, Mike, Julie
Addie, Zoe, Keegan, Chelsea, Me and Cooper, Molly, Callen (supporting all his favorite sports teams)

Fun in Idaho

2011-06-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

We are having so much fun in Idaho. There is nothing like being with family and being spoiled with attention and love. My kids are a shadow to anyone that will let them except me. Addie is totally my Dad's sidekick. He just might be the best grandpa in the world. In Rexburg there is a free Zumba class two nights a week that is very informal but still an amazing work out. Addie has been going with me and we are having a blast. She really knows how to shake her booty!! For some reason she couldn't remember if it was called zumba or jenga and it was pretty funny. Here we are in our work out attire!!

Zumba

We went to the farmer's market that is held every Friday here in Rexburg and Addie and her cousin Zoe got rainbows painted on their faces. Quickly they became the rainbow sisters. All day Friday and saturday they were the rainbow sisters and when they saw each other on Sunday they both had sad faces as they each told the other that they had to wash it off for church. Later in the evening when someone mentioned the rainbow sisters they informed us they were not the rainbow sisters anymore because they had to wash it off but they were now the Lemonade girls (we had a fantastic lemonade stand a few days ago and have big plans for more in the future!!)

Cute rainbow sisters

We ate at Craigo's Pizza on Saturday and the Kids really were wishing Brian was here because " going out to eat with our family is our favorite thing to do" according to Addie.

Here goes the Lemonade stand

WE set up outside my Brother Tony's house and hundreds of College students walk by every hour. They could not resist the kids. They sold lemonade for only 25 cents but in about 45 minutes they had all ready made 12 dollars and that was on a Saturday. Imagine what it would be like as the hundreds walk by going to and from class. Pretty cool

It was pretty much teh sweetest thing I have ever seen. Callen was the salesman and would walk the sidewalks shouting, "Lemonade, fresh lemonade" as loud as he could. He was even bringing people in from across the street. Addie would always hold the cup steady and Zoe would always pour. They always asked if they wanted a piece of ice and then ended with, "Thank you! have a nice day!" The look on their face and the squeals in their voices when someone would approach was priceless.

Callen did his job very well and brought in a lot of customers. He would basically hunt them down on the side walk and stand ten feet in front of them and then yell about fresh lemonade. We all thought it was quite entertaining and they all had a blast.

Sleepy heads

2011-06-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

So I know my Mom would kill me for posting this picture but it was so funny. They were both sound asleep on the couch and my little sister took my camera to take a picture of them and after she took it the camera flashed on its screen One or more subjects may have closed their eyes. We were laughing so hard. I love my parents so much!!

Play doh

2011-06-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

We are officially at Brian's parents house and it has been great (more on that later)! It got really really really hot since we have been here and for some reason we have not made it to the pool as much as I would have liked because it is just hard with nap times for Cooper and the heat and everything (plus Brian's Mom accidentally took the pool pass with her to girls camp for the week!!) Brian's sister is also visiting right now with her 5 girls so this house is BUSY. While it has been a blast it is also very loud all the time and I have developed a little sinus cold so today I needed something. So we made play doh. I love how this silly home made play doh will entertain for hours. Addie and her cousins were making cookies (that is the best thing to make with play doh apparently). they decided to open a shop called salty fancy cookies and Callen made jewelry for his Mommy. he is so thoughtful like that. He kept asking me things like, "Do you think this is the right size for your wrist?" "Do you think this is pretty enough for you, it has to be beautiful!" " Do you like fancy things on top?" I am wearing a very fancy ring at the moment. As he was making my jewelry I as making cookies and I overheard this conversation,

Callen: Addie, I work at a jewelry shop. Ask me if this is for sale?
Addie: Is that for sale?
Callen: No, I am making it special for my Mom and she is busy cooking right now so I am going to keep it safe for her!"

Oh, so sweet, I feel so loved and special. I have the prettiest play doh jewelry in the land!