so busy

i have been so bad at posting anything on here since school started. i've been so busy with so many things that i feel like i cant even sit and think sometimes! but here are some recent pics of the family. enjoy until next time! i have no idea when that will be. :)

Rayden and his cute cousin Wyatt


Rayden with his cousins Wyatt and Colton




Rayden and Grandma


me and Chad


Rayden and his other cute cousin Landon


Rayden and daddy


Rayden and mommy

Andrew and Brie's wedding!

These two love birds are FINALLY married! yippee! :)









Uncle Shawn, Aunt Mickelle, and Wyatt


Grandpa, Rayden, and Grandma




cute cousins!


mommy and rayden

fun times with J and K :)

well i got back from PA and chad got back from timbuktu...not really....but he got back from fighting fires. after not seeing each other for about a month, we got to hang out and do whatever....so we chose golfing with james and kirst, our best pals ever! :)

of course, i got a hole in one :)


here's the course i got a hole in one on!


the fellas


me and kirst


we always have so much fun with james and kirsten.......we're going to miss you guys when you move to new york!!!!!

pictures pictures and MORE pictures

i'm just randomly posting a ton of pictures from our PA trip this year and then some other cute ones! So enjoy! I'm late with most of these......so i'll get back into the swing of things hopefully and get things in order one of these days :) most of these pictures are of rayden of course.....and then thrown into the mix are my sister, my cousin, my best friend, and my amazing grandpa...have fun!

hey hey!

so its sure been a VERY long while since i've posted on our blog...and a LOT has been goin on in our lives this past month!
for starters, chad has been working a LOT on fires...makin the money for the fam and hopefully having fun while doing it. he is currently in nevada on the biggest fire of the season so far, but we're hoping he'll be home soon! we've only seen each other for 2 nights in the past month, and that is just no good at all. :)
another story in the news is that i went home to pennsylvania with rayden for almost an entire month. my mom was in the hospital for a couple weeks and has been very sick, so we needed to go visit her, spend time with her, and help her in any way we could. of course chad couldnt go because of work, and we missed him...but i know he would've been there if i would asked him to be! as of now, my mom is out of the hospital and stable, but she needs a liver transplant..she's in the advanced stages of liver failure, so we'll see how the planning goes for that transplant. the doctors are figuring all that out asap. i love my mom sooooooo much and i really had such a blast being home with my family and friends. it was definitely a much needed trip away from utah.
along with my mom, my grandpa is also very sick. he's in the end stages of prostate cancer. :( if you really know me, you know that my grandpa is like my dad. i have never been closer to any other man. he's been there for me my entire life doing everything for me as a dad would. i've always lived either with him or right next door to him as long as i can remember. he is for sure my hero in life, and it was the greatest blessing i could ask for to be home spending every day with him that i could.
besides our trip to pennsylvania, nothing much else has been going on in our lives i guess. we're just living day to day until school begins at the end of the month (which i need to find a babysitter for)!!
i'll try to add some pictures soon and hopefully now that i'm home, i'll make more time to blog! i hope everybody is doin well!

play play play, all day long!!

for those of you who know rayden, you know what a hand full he is! he loves, loves, LOVES to be playing outside, doing anything in the water, making messes, taking off off his diaper and pulling poop out (thats another story for another day haha)....but anyway he's totally all boy..and its so much fun! there's never a dull moment in the taylor home. chad and i went to some yard sales last saturday which was so fun, and we found this turtle sand box for THREE dollars! i've been wanting to get him this exact sand box since he was born because it reminds me of when i was a kid, but we were always too poor to buy one; so of course we jumped on it when we saw it for so cheap. anyway, we filled it with water as u can tell and rayden is loving it!







check out that grin! he's posin for the camera cuz mommy asked him to....so cute!


yeah i'm not totally sure about this, but he MAY be digging in his diaper...see, i told u, he does it non-stop.




and here i am! not that anyone cares haha, but i figured i'd add a little bit of me to this blog since i never do!




anyway, more fun times to come hopefully, so stay tuned!

more summer fun!

For the past couple weeks, it seems like we've just been trying to find any time we can to play outside when it's not raining. It feels like we're living in Seattle these days! But hopefully it'll clear up soon and become officially summer time in Logan! We can't wait! We managed to have a few sunny days come our way, and we made the most of it. Here are some random pictures of Rayden at McDonalds and playing outside in the pool with his best buddy Mason. Enjoy!

Burger King now has ice cream cones... mini Rayden-sized ones! So of course he finally got his very own cone!




Rayden loves his happy meals....or maybe it's the playland he loves so much!














We can't wait til it gets warm and nice again so we can go to the pool and have some more fun! Bring on the summer weather!

Chad's birthday and more fun times!

So I've been really bad at posting pictures and stuff on here, so I'm sorry! But here are a few pics of us just out and about in town, from Chad's birthday, and Rayden and Mason (his best pal) playing!

I think he might be a little confused with this one. The truck just moved back and forth real quick.


Chad had more fun on the merry go round than Rayden did! Seriously, Rayden was just riding around and staring like he was thinking, "This is all it does?" I guess rides like these (that most kids like) just aren't cool enough for Rayden. He's such a dare devil, he needs more adventurous toys!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY to daddy!


Chad being weird of course. He looks so scary!


I'm quite the baker, right?


Chad and I went golfing for his birthday...mini golfing that is. :) Of course, Chad is SO proud of himself for beating me (which he doesnt do very often) haha riiiiiiiiiiight.


There's MY ball in the water!






Rayden was just sitting like this and we thought it was funny. He fell earlier in the day and so his eye is all scratched up, and we told him to say cheese.


Rayden and Grandma. Thanks so much for babysitting for a week!! He had so much fun!


This is Rayden and Mason hanging out in Rayden's room. They're so cute together. They're best buds!




I got you cornered!!

Summer Fun!

Summer has just begun, and we have already had so much fun enjoying the hot weather! Rayden has really enjoyed every chance he has had being outside and getting dirty. Chad and I have really loved having some fun times together this summer too, since usually by now he would be living in Ferron and we would've already started not seeing each other. It's been so great having him come home from work every day and playing with us! On Sunday we had a BBQ with our best friends James and Kirst and then went to First Dam and hung out for a long time. Rayden had a lot of fun playing on the beach, watching the ducks, eating popsicles, and playing catch. On Monday we took Rayden and our neighbor's little boy Mason to Hogle Zoo and had a blast!! We called Mason and Elise, and they joined us with Audrey which was so fun too! She has to be the cutest little girl ever, always smiling and so happy! Here are some pictures from our fun-filled week!

This is what the boys looked like on our trip down to the zoo....probably wondering why Chad and I kept talking to them so excitedly about the zoo and animals...they had no idea how much fun they were about to have!




We took Rayden out of his stroller to change his diaper, and he decided it was time for him to take over. He and Mason thought they were going to leave us and do their own thing...












This is precious little Audrey! I told you she's cute!


Rayden being silly at the monkeys




Mason was really excited about the elephants!







And this is what the boys looked like on our way home from the zoo. They had such a fun time, and we did too. They laughed almost the entire way home until they zonked out!


Cheese!!!!




Rayden chillin at First Dam


He's such a little cheeser haha. you need to click on this picture and see how cute it is!




Kirst took this way cute pic!










James and Kirsten

Rayden's first birthday party!

Rayden got invited to his first birthday party, and it was this weekend. It was a swimming party, and oh did he have the time of his life!! He ate tons of snacks, about ten suckers, and played in the water for a long time with his friends. It was so fun!



Yeah these co0kies went into the pool, all smashed up and gross. They even changed the water at one point! Silly Rayden! :)


He kept dipping the suckers into the pool, eating them, then getting more. He had a different color sucker every time I turned around!








Rayden and Mylah (the birthday girl)


Rayden and Brody


Zoey....notice Rayden back there chomping on his sucker. Looks like he's really enjoying it!




Mylah

Suzzi's BEAUTIFUL wedding day!

One of my best friends, Suzzi, got married last week to a really great guy named Spencer. They had the most beautiful ceremony inside the Salt Lake Temple and a very wonderful and pretty luncheon and reception. Chris, Chrissy, and I (along with the boys of course) spent the entire day in Salt Lake celebrating Suzzi's big day with Suzzi's family (who is like my own)! It was so much fun, and I can honestly say that it was one of the highlights of my year already! Suzzi is one of the greatest girls I have ever met, so caring, so giving, and just so great! I love her so much, and I am so so happy that I could be there to watch her get married. I'm so happy for her!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH SUZ!!! Here are some pics in no particular order of course because I don't feel like moving them around!

Rayden and Landon love to give each other hugs. So cute right!? If you want to see a cute video of this moment when the boys are playing in the fountain and giving hugs, look at my sister's blog to the right "Chris and Chrissy." It's too cute!


Suzzi and her sisters!




The happy couple!














Uncle Shawn and Rayden


Thanks again to Shawn and Mickelle who watched the boys while we were inside the temple! Love you guys!

Chrissy, Chris & Landon came to visit!

Chrissy and Chris came to visit pretty much out of the blue for a couple days, so they stayed with us in Logan. It was so much fun having them! I miss them a lot and I definitely miss watching Landon grow up and be best buds with Rayden. Bear with all the pictures, but I'm making up for all the time during this semester that I was too busy to post! :)







I'm not so sure why, but Rayden has a shoe fetish. He is constantly wearing my shoes around the house, and he can walk better in my heels than I can! Seriously!






Uncle Chad took the boys for scooter rides. :)


Aunt Chrissy and Rayden


How precious! They hugged a LOT! They must miss each other!!






Just chillaxin


Uncle Chris and Landon


All Rayden wanted to do was cuddle with Landon. :)










It was fun having them here again. Love you guys!! Come back soon!

such a big boy!

I keep forgetting to add these pictures of Rayden and his new toddler bed. It is such a cute bed, and he sleeps in it very well! The first night he had the bed, I think he was pretty excited...because he went right to sleep and slept all night. Sometimes he jumps out in the middle of the night and comes to sleep with mom and dad, but he really does so well without a crib. He's growing up so fast, and it's so crazy!

Hooray for Chad!

A lot has happened since I posted last. First thing's first....school is out for summer! Sweet! So now I should have more time to post about our world................should..............let's see if it happens! School ended in a great way, with me moving right along and Chad graduating! Way to go Chad! I'm so proud of him and of all of his great work and accomplishments. Chad's family came to visit for a few days then we watched him walk and graduate with some of his friends. It was a great day!









Chad and Kurt...Emery County and Psychology pals!




Rayden is showing off Daddy's diploma!

Congratulations Chad! We love you!!

Happy Easter! (and lots of pictures!)

We had a very fun weekend with the family in Ferron for Easter, and I have lots of pictures to prove it! :) Rayden had a blast playing outside, coloring eggs, eating junk, and visiting with all the people who love to spoil him! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter like we did! Enjoy the thousand pictures!


We tried to get a family picture but Rayden wasn't cooperating of course.



Rayden and his new golf clubs!











Cutie pie Wyatt, my nephew. He is just so darn adorable right?!

He's sweet too! He is such a good sharer :)





Neither of them care too much about taking a picture when easter eggs and candy are involved

Rayden had such a fun time coloring easter eggs....or spilling water everywhere!







Becky and Wyatt, my sister in law and nephew





He loves his bubbles


Here is a video of Rayden and Wyatt coloring eggs. They had so much fun!

Early Easter & Baby Blessing

Chad's cousin Kami and her husband Bart blessed their new baby girl this past Sunday at Chad's Aunt and Uncle's house. I wish I would've got a picture of her because she is the cutest little baby ever! She had the most precious blessing dress on. After the blessing, Chad's Aunt put together an Easter Egg hunt for all the kids in the house (there were a lot of kiddos there!) and it was so much fun!

Aren't these decorations so cute? I wish I could be this creative on my own!


Rayden had a problem. He kept going down the stairs before the egg hunt started and stealing the peeps out of the eggs. We thought it was cute and he had no idea what was going on..but some of the older kids were getting mad at him haha. Kami's daughter Taylor told Rayden not to go take their Easter Eggs and to save them for later because it wasn't time to find them yet. They started getting a little crazy when he would come upstairs with yet another egg or some candy. They'd start screaming, "Get him! Somebody get him! He's taking all our easter eggs!" It was pretty funny.


Here he is finding some mula in an egg. Sweet!




Here he is eating a hershey kiss that he found (with the foil on it)...mmmm

Check out all the eggs she got! Every one of the kids had a bucket of eggs this size. There were so many eggs in that house!

This is me with Neda's new little baby boy. (I have no idea how to spell Neda..sorry!) But isn't he just so darling! I could've held him forever!


Anyway, it was such a fun day, so thanks for inviting us Faun! We love hanging out with the fam!

Finally...back to real life...

I just barely finished reading the Twilight books, and I must say that I think they are amazing! These books pretty much consumed all of my time over the past week and a half, and Chad thinks I'm obsessed...but thats okay! They were so good! I didnt get much else done, but at least I still took care of Rayden haha. If you havent read these books, read them! Although I liked the movie, I probably wouldnt have liked it as much if I would have read the books first. They seriously hit ya and get you addicted. They're great!





Oh yeah and p.s.......since people keep asking me...I'm on Team Edward...100%

cute little boy

Mandy and I took Rayden to get a much needed hair cut on Friday, and Rayden pulled some of the saddest faces I've ever seen a baby pull! It was so cute but heartbreaking at the same time.

He did okay to start out....

Then the fear came...

Afterwards, he said, "All done"

And the finished product...my cute little boy actually looks like a boy! :)


Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Ode to Grandpas!

I just wanted to say how much I absolutely LOVE my grandpa! He is for sure a one-of-a-kind guy and one of the greatest men I have ever known. Today is his birthday, and he is 80! He's been battling cancer and has been in and out of hospitals for a while now, but I am so glad he is still here enjoying his time on earth with his family. Happy Birthday Pappy! Love you!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously. I cannot take it anymore! I for reals have the meanest, cruelest, most uncaring and unfeeling sister and aunt that anybody could have. I truly think that. And I just don't understand it. How could anybody be so mean to their own family members even though they owe them so much. It would take me way too long and far too much space to explain this craziness right now, but just know that I'm pissed and tired of the way they treat people! Ahh! I wanna scream!!

just because

I thought I'd add a couple videos of Rayden just running around the house playing and stuff for the fam from far away to see. They don't even really know what he looks like these days....so here he is just havin some fun!

Blast from the Past

I recently found one of my stepsisters through the internet, and I'm so excited! For those of you who don't know, my mom re-married after she and my dad got divorced (a long, long time ago); but then to make a long story short, my mom's husband died. My family hasn't had any contact with his children (our stepsisters) since my sister and I were very young; they live in a totally different state and everything, so I was so happy when I got in touch with one of them just this week. Her name is Devin. This is a picture I found from way back in the day...the only picture I have with Devin and Rachel, and my sister Chrissy and me. That's my mom and some friends with us. But anyway, this is so awesome! So I thought I'd share. I also figured while I'm adding old pictures on here, I might as well add a few others I found on my computer of my sisters and me growing up. Can you guess which one is me and which one is Chrissy? People seem to always miss this question for some reason. :) I guess we used to look more alike when we were younger than we do now.

The Wonderful World of Words!!!

*You'll need pause my music on the side of the page to hear the video clearly*

As promised, here is a video of Rayden saying some of the new words he's learned! He also can say ball, dad, hi, and hello. Enjoy!

our "almost" all better little boy

Our silly little boy isn't totally back to normal yet, but he's finally getting there! He's been on an antibiotic for a week now for 2 bad ear infections. He's still pretty needy and clingy, but he's been loosening up more and having some fun!!

Chad and I always take Rayden to the play land in the mall so he can interact with other kids and play on all the fun ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches, and cupcakes! He's so good at climbing, and when he falls the equipment is really soft. So it's perfect! Plus, he has a blast as you can tell!






This is Rayden's new thing...playing with his cars and trucks on the kitchen floor. He LOVES it. He's been experimenting how to get them to move, and he says "vroom vroom." It's so darn cute!

I thought I'd sneak this one in of James and Kirsten, our best friends up here! We sure would be bored without their company all the time, dinners, and sleepovers haha.

Doesn't he look so smart? He likes to try on our glasses, but he always looks down since they most likely hurt his eyes. I promise we didn't make him wear these very long. :)

Kirsten took this picture cuz she thought it was funny. Our little family each enjoying a yummy, chocolate chip cookie..

These pictures are from James and Kirsten's house. Isn't he just so cute!



uh oh...mom caught him!








Rayden has really been making us laugh lately. He has started saying words and phrases, and it is so cute! He just began to say "yee haw!" He runs around saying it all the time now and even says it in the car to pass the time until we get to our destination. Some other words he's always saying nowadays are "bop bop"...translation "grandpa," and "all right." It's been so fun watching him learn new things and do new things. I can't believe how fast he's growing!!

Free Prize!

Okay..so I saw this on Chad's cousin Cherlyn's blog, and it looks like it may be fun! I'm not the most creative person in the world and I'm not the best at making things, but I'll give it a shot!

The deal: The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me. To you! It will be my choice and made especially for you. Just so we’re on the same page, here are . . .

The details: What I create will be just for you. It will be done sometime this year. You have no clue what it will be… cookies, a photograph, a piece of homemade jewelry.
It may be some other random thing I am capable of making or doing that would be enjoyable to you! I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you! That’s for sure. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The fine print: You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. When you get your lovely homemade goods from me, post a picture on your blog so I know my love arrived without a hitch.

sick times at the taylor home and welcome home andrew...

Welp, here we go again. Our little man is sick once again, and it is the saddest thing ever!! I don't have any pictures to show you, but you would probably cry if you saw some anyway. He just lays around, runny nose, red cheeks, and tears streaming down every now and again....sad sad sad. It breaks a mommy's heart!! I took him to the doctor this morning, and he has 2 very bad ear infections. One got so bad that his ear drum burst, and his temperature was 104 when they checked it at the doctor's office. Poor baby was in pretty bad shape. We got an antibiotic though, so hopefully he'll be back to normal soon!

On a happier note, Chad's little brother Andrew got home from his mission in South Korea on Saturday. It was so great to see him again after 2 years (that flew by so quickly I might add). He looks great and is such a wonderful guy!! We're so happy he's back to share with us all the fun times our family has together. We love you Drewbee!!!

Michelle's Wedding

Our good friends Michelle and Henry got married on Valentine's Day, and my sister and I were bridesmaids. It was soooo much fun! From having Chris, Chrissy, and Landon staying with us, to getting ready in the morning (thanks Kirsten!), to eating a thousand heart shaped peppermint patties, to the many limo rides all around town, to the yummy food at BlueBird and Hamiltons, I had a blast! It was such a beautiful wedding and a fun day that I'll always remember. Congratulations Michelle and Henry!! I'm sad you're gone now!!! Here are some pics in no particular order....










Here comes the bride....

I may look angry, but I'm not! I'm very happy!!

poor little pooper....literally...

As I'm sure all you moms and dads would agree, it is so sad when one of your children is sick. That's how its been at our house for about 6 days. Rayden has had some kind of bug, and it is so sad because he just mopes around the house all day long. Now for those of you who know him, Rayden is NOT the kind of kid who can sit still for anything. He is always running around, laughing, and playing. During this past week, however, he has been so attached to Chad and me and all he wants to do is cuddle. He takes naps with me, lays down and gives me kisses, and always wants to hug me. It is the most adorable thing ever, but we wish he would get feeling better soon!!

SUPER BOWL!!!

Welp, Sunday is the big game! I am so excited!!! Go Steelers!!!

Here's an awesome video you can watch! Growing up, they would play this song every year through the loud speakers in our school when the Steelers would have games. Yep, EVERYBODY loves the Steelers in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. :) The words get changed every season so they include all the players. This brings back so many memories!! Anyway, everybody tune in on Sunday and cheer for the Steelers to win their 6th Super Bowl...2nd since Big Ben became the quarterback. Woo hoo!!! If you dont have a place to watch it, come on over! We're havin a PARTAY!!!

Steelers Super Bowl Song 2008-2009!!!

uh oh.....oh no....

So here's a sad story about our cute little boy! The past couple of nights, Rayden has been very attached to us. He wants to cuddle with us, sleep with us, always be near us. It's been a fight to get him to sleep in his crib for some reason. He takes naps in his crib just fine during the day, but nights are just not goin so well. So last night, after probably the 5th time of Chad putting him into his crib, we heard him screaming (which was normal); but then we heard a loud thud. We continued hearing him scream, and I thought he had just banged the crib against the wall like he does sometimes. He shakes it around. Well, I went into his room to make sure things were goin okay, and when I opened his door, I bumped something. It was Rayden. I was so confused about why Chad didn't actually put him into his crib. I asked him why he just put Rayden into his room and closed the door, and he seemed very confused. Well after we turned the light on, we realized that Rayden had fallen out of his crib!! He had a bloody nose, and it was the saddest thing you could ever see! He came over and hugged us and snatched on for dear life and didn't want down. No wonder he's afraid of his crib now! So anyway, we let him sleep with us for a while last night because we both felt so bad for him. But now we're wondering if he needs a bed. He seems too small still for a 'big boy' bed, but we might just have to do that. We don't want him getting hurt worse next time!

Here are some recent pics of our little stinker.

2 of our best friends, James & Kirsten. Rayden loves them!


This is Rayden eating with his fork! He's so good at it, and he loves using it. Of course he still uses his hands quite a bit, but it's so fun to watch him learn to use the fork. :)

"Just Playing"

This is a poem I received from one of my teachers about children and their "play" time. We often hear parents or other people asking why children in preschool just play all day. They say that preschool isn't really that important because all they're doing is playing....they're not really learning anything. We know that this isn't true. This poem reflects some of the things that children learn at such a young age and hopefully helps people to realize how much of an impact "play" really has on the development of our children. Let's allow our children to explore, make messes, do silly things, and discover new things because this is how they learn, develop, and grow.

When I'm building in the block room, please don't say I'm "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play
About balance and shapes
Who knows, I may be an architect someday.

When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies
Don't get the idea I'm "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint,
Or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay
Please don't let me hear you say, he is "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm expressing myself and being creative.
I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair "Reading" to an imaginary audience,
Please don't laugh and think I'm "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs,
Or packing my pockets with choice things I find,
Don't pass it off as "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "play thing" at my school,
Please don't feel the time is wasted in "Play"
I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate.
I may be in business someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods,
Please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is "Just Play"
I'm learning to follow directions and see differences.
I may be a cook someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body,
Please don't say I'm "Just Playing"
For you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning how by body works.
I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today
And I say, "I Just Played"
Please don't misunderstand me.
For you see, I'm learning as I play.
I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.
I'm preparing for tomorrow.
Today, I am a child and my work is play.

**Anita Wadley--Gateways to Learning**

WOO HOO!!!!!

So yesterday was a HUGE game, and the Steelers pulled it off! It may not have been the prettiest game ever, and I might have thought I was going to hyperventilate a few times, but we beat the Ravens, and now PITTSBURGH is goin to the SUPER BOWL!!!!! SWEET!!! I am so excited and I probably jumped up and down forever last night singing the Steelers fight song! The Super Bowl is Feb. 1, and we're goin all the way to beat the Cardinals for our second Super Bowl win since Big Ben became our quarterback! Yay!!!!!

fun times @ beaver

We went snowboarding Monday with some of our best friends, and it was so much fun! Chad's Aunt Faun and Uncle Ed babysat Rayden, which was so nice of them...and from their comments I guess they had a lot of fun with him. I'm a crazy mom who almost didn't go because I didn't want to be away from him all night, but it ended up being such a fun time that we needed. Here are some pics from our fun filled evening!

Kristen, Craig, Chad, me, and Kirsten

This is all of us again except there's James also!

Chad and I are so lucky to have such awesome friends, and we love them!

Steeler Country!

Well, I'm not really in Steeler Country here in Utah, but I'm trying to convince those around me that the Pittsburgh Steelers really are a good football team! Almost everybody I spoke to before today's game against the Chargers informed me that the Chargers would definitely win. But, like I told them, you cannot underestimate the Steelers on their home turf. They usually do well at home, and the Steelers fans are crrrrraaazy! They easily can pump anybody up. So, after today's beat down on the Chargers, Pittsburgh is headed to the championship game next week against Baltimore. SWEET! I'm definitely crossing my fingers that they win and make it to another Super Bowl, but even if they don't, I just love the Steelers!!!!! That black and gold make me so happy! When I think about the Steelers, I think of all the fun memories of the terrible towel waving around all over town or the Steelers song my elementary school used to play over the loud speakers when they went to the Super Bowl. My family always had fun parties any time they played, I can't help it I love football! Anyway, next week I'll definitely be tuning in to watch them (hopefully) beat the Ravens and head to the Super Bowl and you should too!! Wish us luck!

happy new year...congrats shawn & mickelle...and steak

Happy New Year from Rayden and Mason! On New Years we hung out with our friends who live directly across the street from us..Adam, Christine, and their cute little boy Mason. Rayden and Mason played all night long, and it was so fun to just hang out, eat pizza, watch movies, and enjoy each other's company. Happy 2009 everyone!!





CONGRATULATIONS Shawn and Mickelle! My brother-in-law got married on Friday, and it was a fun day/night. As you can tell, Rayden sure enjoyed the festivities even though he hadn't had a nap all day. I think he was to the point where he was so tired that he was hyper. It was craziness. Thanks Becky for having smarties and suckers on hand during the ceremony though. That saved me from missing the wedding!

I thought this was so cute. Rayden was dipping his hands into the fountain then Wyatt would drink it off Rayden's fingers. Cute cousins!!

Mandy, Rayden, and me waiting for the bride to come down the aisle

The bride and groom at their luncheon. Might I add that Red Lobster's pasta is now one of my favorites!

Chad, John ( Chad's cousin), Mandy, Rayden, and me


And I thought I'd add these. Like father like son with the steak. Chad was eating an elk steak and mashed potatoes when Rayden decided it looked tasty. He jumped up onto Chad's lap and went to town. I guess we know now that he loves steak!

mmmmmmmm

a holly, jolly christmas time!

Christmas this year was so exciting and so much fun!! Here are some pictures, not in any order really, of our festivities throughout the week of Christmas. We spend the holiday with Chad's family, who I want to thank for the best Christmas ever! His parents are so generous and giving, and we owe them big time! I couldn't ask for better in-laws!! Love you Brent and Renee!!!

Landon came to visit! Wahoo! It was so much fun visiting with Chrissy, Chris, and Landon. I was so happy they went to visit with us in Ferron and then we got to see them again in Orem. Yay! We miss you guys!




This is the pickle. It isn't a real pickle, but it's a christmas tree ornament. Every year after we open presents, Chad's parents hide the pickle inside the tree somewhere. Whoever finds the pickle gets extra money! Woo hoo! Since Chad and I are pretty poor, this was my shot to help out the fam! And I found it!!! (Thanks to Renee's hint...thank you very much). Anyway, this is a fun tradition of the Taylor family that we all look forward to every year.


Renee's very pretty Christmas tree on the night before Christmas.

Okay so us girls were put in charge of putting together the gingerbread house. Hmmmm...I'm not so sure that was the greatest idea. It may have been my fault. I wasn't the greatest icer, and I made more of a mess than anything else. But it was still fun!

The Taylor gals having some fun! (and Wyatt too). :)

Don't laugh because it's falling down.

Hmmmm..

Oh no.


Rayden really loved the huge box of oranges underneath the christmas tree. At first he thought they were balls, but when he figured out they were food, he took a bite out of quite a few of them. Notice the bite mark on that orange.

I'm not so sure he liked it with the peeling on there.

TUBING! YAY! Shawn brought down the most awesome tubes ever, and we had so much fun in the snow!

Rayden's first time tubing.





This is a rocking horse bought for Wyatt, but Rayden liked it also. Maybe someday buddy! He learned how to rock himself on it, so it was cute watching him.





our little cutie pie!

Always smiling

Merry Christmas!

We're going to Ferron for Christmas, so we opened our presents early up here so we didn't have to lug everything back and forth. Rayden had so much fun!

For those of you who know us, Rayden LOVES to play with brooms and dust pans, so now he has his own. :)

he LOVES teddy bears now, so we got him a life size one! Here he is imitating the bear. How cute! :)

He takes it everywhere with him now.

And I thought I couldn't bake.....

Check these out! This is my finished product. Remember my last post about how awful my experience was while making these? I think they turned out pretty cute. I'm not sure how good they taste, but thats okay. I'm still proud of myself for finishing them! Merry Christmas everyone!

Snowy Days

Since the days have been so snowy and cold up here in Logan, we've done a whole lot of sitting inside, watching movies, drinking hot cocoa (or warm milk for Raydey pooper....yes I have weird nicknames for my baby), and just laying around keeping warm. It may seem pretty boring to some of you, but it has actually been so nice doing absolutely nothing except whatever we want to do inside! Well, being the most fabulous baker that I am, I thought it would be nice to make some yummy Christmas cut-out sugar cookies for our neighbors and friends...only to begin and realize that I am NOT a fabulous baker....but a TERRIBLE baker. What probably would've taken most people no time at all seemed to take me forever.


These are the cookies I burnt because I didn't make them thick enough. Boo. They're not completely black, but they would hurt your teeth trying to eat one.

Chad and I laughed forever about this one. So the cookie dough was too hard to put sprinkles on before I cooked the cookies. I had planned on using the crystally sprinkles, but then I realized I didn't have anything except these little ball sprinkles. So now you see the sprinkles on the cookie....................

........and now you don't. As soon as I picked up the cookie, they all fell off.
We got a pretty good laugh out of that.

This is some of my mess with this hard dough and crap all over the place. If only I had a professional baker around the holidays to make me all the goodies I want....


We then took Rayden out into the snow while it was soft so that he could get a taste of how fun (and cold) snow is! He seemed to like it at first, marveling at the white powdery stuff falling on his eyelashes...until he took off his glove and realized just how cold it actually was. He was ready to go inside then.

There was so much snow I think it kinda scared him because he couldn't stand up too easily once he sat down into it!



It was fun watching his faces and seeing him play, though. I can't believe how big he's getting!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We saw this video on Chad's cousin's blog, and I thought it was cute! So thanks Susan! It was so fun to watch you disco!


Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Lazy days at the Taylor residence

It's so awesome having a break from school and being able to spend so much time with the fam! I missed it so much! Rayden is the cutest little guy in the world, and he is getting so big and learning so many new things every day. It's been fun watching him throughout the days. He now says the word "fish." We have this huge fish in our garage that Chad's grandpa caught a long time ago, so now Rayden loves it. It is so adorable. He doesn't say a perfect "fish," but you can tell what he's saying. And if we ever say, "Where's the fishie, Rayden?" He points at the door and gets a huge grin when we take him out there while he points to the fish. He also tries to say "Santa." He says "Danta" but every now and then it sounds more like "Santa." Its so cute! We have a cute Santa that Chad's mom gave me for a decoration, and Rayden LOVES it. I just wish he actually loved the "real" Santa. When he sees him or anyone that looks similar, he freaks out and runs as fast as he can away.

Rayden also is learning what everything is and means. For example, when I ask him if he wants mommy to read him a book, he goes over to his book shelf and grabs a book. He always seems to choose the same one too, "The Potty Book for Little Boys." Apparently, he wants to learn to use the potty soon. :)

When he was hiding underneath the end table in the living room today and I couldn't get him out, I said, "Rayden, do you want a cookie?" I was just being funny because I didn't think it would work. But IT DID! Rayden bolted out from underneath the table so quickly, and he ran to the stove and pointed to the chocolate chip cookies I had just made. So obviously I had to give him a cookie even though it's not healthy because he was so smart and I was so proud of him! Isn't he a smarty pants?

I couldn't be happier being home all day every day again, and I am definitely not looking forward to school starting again so soon! My little boy is getting so big, and I don't want to miss out on anything!

-recent pics-

Rayden has been really enjoying the Christmas trees all around, and he just loves to take things off and try to pull the tree down (i guess not try..because he's succeeded in pulling ours down already). But anyway, here he is marveling at James' and Kirsten's dog ornament on their tree.



This is our stinker just being so cute! He thinks its so funny when he hides underneath this table


Hmmm..it looks like he may know he isn't supposed to be touching those ornaments..


I'm not so sure what's going on here..but he looks cute!


This is our adventure to Cabela's. He really enjoyed the fishies! He even says "fish" now!

yay!!

School is finally out, and I am so glad! I have time to do nothing which is something I haven't done in a long, long time! So.....this means more pictures will be coming up shortly. I am so glad it is Christmas time because I LOVE this time of year. Everything is so pretty and the spirit is all around. I hope you're all enjoying your December as much as I am! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

These are some more pics from PA. This first one is a picture of the grandkids in my family. Rayden, Leanna, Mikahla, Skylyn, and Landon. I'm so glad I got a picture of all of them together!

I had to post a picture of this amazingly delicioso ice cream. It's my absolute favorite EVER and not sold anywhere in Utah. Boo.

Chrissy, Lisa, and me. Best buds forever!! We miss
you so much Lisa!

Such A Big Boy!

So our big boy Rayden got his first hair cut finally after all the people thinking he was a girl! I don't have an after picture yet because he actually got it cut twice. This is the very first haircut though while we were in Pennsylvania. My sister was too scared to cut too much off cuz Chad wanted it long. But once we got home (to Utah), we realized it needed more off, so Chad cut the back short and Brie (my soon to be sister in law I hope) cut some more off the front. So I'll have to post a pic of his cute new hairdo! Isn't he getting so big? Way too fast too!

PA TRIP

Here are some pics from our trip. I'll add some more later! :)
This is Rayden and my pappy





I love him so much!!

Love you Chad!!

I just noticed Kirsten's tag, and I just feel like doing something, so here it goes!

Sweet Heart Tag

What is your husbands name? Chad Austin Taylor
How long have you guys been married? 2 years, 3 months, 11 days
How long did you date? 11 1/2 months
How old is he? 24
Who is taller? Chad...that would be weird if I was I think
Who can sing best? Chad for sure...I canNOT sing
Who is smarter? Thats me for sure haha....just kidding. We're both smart in different areas. He gets frustrated because I can do school things really quickly and easily most of the time, and it annoys me that he knows how to do everything else better than me!
Who does laundry? We both do, but usually it's me
Who pays the bills? whoever gets to it first...so both of us
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Which right? If you're laying on the bed, Chad is on the right. If you're looking at the bed, I'm on the right
Who mows the lawn? Well I mowed it all summer long, and Chris mowed it, and Matt helped me mow it once haha...mostly me though since Chad was gone fightin fires.
Who cooks dinner? We both cook, but I probably cook more. I love cooking! Even though it's not always the best dinner, I feel like cooking soothes me and helps me relax.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Yeah it depends on the situation but we both are pretty good at admitting when we're wrong.
Who kissed who first? yeah this is an ongoing debate that I like to tease Chad about.....but it was me. I kissed him first.....woo hoo! ;)
Who wears the pants? Well.......we both wear pants every day...
I tag: Chrissy, Brittany, Becky, Elise, Laurianne, and I can't think of anyone else..so go for it if you want to!

My handsome athlete!

I just looked at Kirsten's blog, and it reminded me that I was supposed to post these pictures SO long ago for Chad. He is always asking me why there are no pictures of HIM on our blog. I always tell him it's because this is pretty much Rayden's blog. Anyway though, Chad played flag football with some friends this semester, and he loved it because he got some activity in his life for a while! He's always stuck at home, so he loved getting out.

Chad and Jamesy Poo walkin side by side..

Yeah I took this picture....good huh? Right on time
with Chad catching the ball.

team huddle!

the whole gang......they look good even though
they lost huh..

Oooooooooh Spooky Halloween!!

After trick or treating on Halloween night, we went to a Halloween party thrown by our friends from our neighborhood. Chad & I weren't going to dress up because we didn't have anything, but at the last minute we decided to throw on whatever we had and make it work. As you can tell, Chad was an Emery Spartan football player, and I'm still thinking about what I was.....either way, the party was so fun and we're glad we went. Thanks Kristyann and Tony for giving us something to do!!

This is Kacie and Rodney.....they were two people who just got out of bed..

Erin, Kenny, Adrian, and Cody

John, Elise, and Rayden

Our silly family

The cutie pie puppy :)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Partay!

Our great pals James & Kirsten invited us to a Halloween party last week, so we went. It was pretty fun, and I'd like to say that I beat Chad at pumpkin bowling. Wahoo for me! We know now that Rayden will most likely be afraid of Santa Clause when the time comes to meet him because he was terrified of this guy dressed up as a Wizard. He wasn't even scary. He had a long white beard and a cone hat. Rayden screamed and shook and tried so hard to get away from him. So sad. But here are a couple of good moments from that night!


Aren't we just so creative?

Future Steeler!

Chad and I have an ongoing debate on whether Rayden should be a Steelers fan or not. I'm not sure if Chad thinks he should be wearing Bears attire or what, but not my child!!! Not in my house! :) Doesn't he look so good in the black & gold!?!!

let's play ball!

Our little boy Rayden is the cutest little boy in the world!! I know we're his parents so of course we think that. But he is! His new word these days is "ball." He points to all the sports balls around his room and says "Ball, ball, ball." And it is so cute! Chad & I took Rayden to play in the park the other day, and we took the softball and our gloves. Of course, Rayden kept coming up to us saying, "Ball," so he ended up taking it from us quite a few times. I think this is is "what are you looking at?" face.....

Happy Halloween......early

We went to a Halloween party at church tonight, so we pulled out the costume! Isn't Rayden just the cutest little puppy? The first and second picture were during the costume parade that he walked through. It was so cute. For Halloween night when we take him trick or treating around our neighborhood, we're going to paint on a little nose and whiskers, so he'll look even cuter!





Such a cute smile!

yummy spaghetti disaster

We let Rayden totally feed himself for the first time the other day; and it just so happened to be the day that we had him eating the messiest food imaginable. So here is what came out of that!

oh happy days!

Since Rayden's birthday, he has been having so much fun playing with all of his new toys. So I figured I'd post some pictures of him in action. This is what he does all day long. Oh the life of a 1 year old...

He loves this toy so much. It's so funny. When he turns it on, he starts dancing.

This cool dump truck is also one of his favorites. He loves the blocks that came with it, and he puts everything else in there too.

Just some toys from his wonderful grandparents and us. Chad's parents got him the baseball game, we bought him the thing with the balls, and my dad got him the leapfrog caterpillar and the vacuum where the balls pop up. Actually, he gave him a gift card to Toys R Us and we picked it out. Thanks Dad!!

This outstanding game is from Uncle Shawn. WOA its fun. Chad and I usually kick Rayden out and play this one ourselves haha. :) Just kidding we let him play. This is another one that he dances to after he puts the basketballs in. He loves it. And so do we!! We're easily entertained. The life of poor parents who stay home all the time. :)

hola

I figured I'd better at least say hi to everyone so nobody thinks we died. If any of you have been through the Early Childhood/Elementary Education Program at Utah State, you have an inkling as to how extremely, extremely busy I am! I'm gone every day for 8-10 hours except for Friday, so I am always beat and not really thinking about getting on the computer at nights. I'm so glad tomorrow is Thursday; because that means the next day is Friday, and I only have one thing to do! WAHOO! So besides going through this crazy program which is also so much fun I might add, I also obviously have a 1 year old and a husband to spend time with. So who has time for internet play? I'll try to make more time and post some pictures ASAP. I know everybody just LOVES to read the Taylor blog and see how we're doing. :)

Baby Tag!

Dayna tagged me to do this, and even though I've looked at her blog many times, I somehow missed this. So here goes!

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?
My bathroom
2- Who was with you?
Chad.....and Rayden of course
3- How did you find out that you were pregn​ant?​
I was throwing up 24/7, and the stick said "pregnant." Then I got a blood test.
4- What was your first​ react​ion to findi​ng out you were pregn​ant?
WHAT THE.........I was shocked
5- Your Husba​nds react​on?​
More shocked than I was.
6- Who was the first​ person you told?​
Chad told Kirk Player, and I told Stacy Hyer
7-Did you plan to get pregn​ant?
Nope we didn't...hence the shock
8-Was every​body happy​ for you?
Yes, everybody was really happy, but my family was also worried a little for me because I wasn't planning it and still was finishing school.
9- Did you go out and celeb​rate?​
Well, we attempted to celebrate on valentine's day, not long after we found out. We went out for dinner, but all I did was throw up for so long that it wasn't much of a celebration.
10- Did you want to find out the sex?
Yes...I really wanted to know.
11- What was the sex?
BOY! BOY!! BOY!!
12-Did anyon​e throw​ you a baby showe​r?​
Or course. I have the best family!
13- If yes, who? My mom threw one in Pennsylvania, and Chad's mom threw two: one in Utah and one in Idaho
14- Did you get any outfi​ts at the baby showe​r that you just knew you weren​'​t going​ to put on your baby?
I cant remember. He's pretty much worn everything we've gotten.
15- How much weigh​t did you gain?
40 pounds.....I was a fatty! But I had a LOT of water weight.
16- Did you loose​ all of the weigh​t that you gaine​d?​
Yes. As I said, I had a lot of water weight, so I lost a lot pretty quickly. But my body is changed, so even though I've lost all my baby weight, I don't look the same as I used to.
17- Did you get a lot of stret​ch marks​?​
Oh yeah....they're finally lighter though
18- What did you crave the most?
any kind of italian food....pasta/pizza and subs.
19- Did you crave​ anyth​ing crazy​?
I absolutely do not like cheesecake. But for some reason when I was pregnant, I always wanted cheesecake! It was so strange. I felt like I needed it, and I couldnt rest until I had a slice.
20- Who or what got on your nerve​s the most?​
Hmmm...everybody annoyed me when I was pregnant. I was such an emotional pregnant person, and I threw up almost the entire nine months. I always felt sick, so that got on my nerves quite a bit. I couldn't eat any kind of diary products which sucked.
21- Were you marri​ed at the time?
Yes
22- Did you have any compl​icati​ons durin​g your pregnancy?
Nope. Besides being so sick and throwing up so much that the drs. said I was going to have to get an IV if I didn't keep food down, there weren't any problems. My blood pressure was a teeny bit high my last week but thats nothing.
23- Where​ were you when you went into labor​?​
I was sleeping. I started having contractions at 5 in the morning, and the continued all day til I went into the hospital at 8 pm.
24- Did your water​ break​?
Nope....just the worst pains (contractions) I've ever felt in my life.
25- Who drove​ you to the hospi​tal?
My wonderful husband. We lived right across the street then, so it was nice. I could barely even walk to the car or get out and walk to labor and delivery.
26- Did you go early​ or late?
oh my goodness I was a week late.....thanks Rayden for putting mommy through that!!
27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth​?
Only Chad........I made sure of that. Chris and Chrissy were there for a little bit before I was actually giving birth.
28- Was it video​ taped​
What? heck no.
29- Did you have any drugs​ for the pain?
Heck yeah. There's no way I could've done it without some good stuff.
30-Did you go Natur​al or have a c-​secti​on?
natural
​31- What was your first​ react​ion after​ giving​ birth​?
I was in shock that I just gave birth to a human being. It was so neat. And I was so happy that he was healthy. I remember thinking WOA he's so big! I couldn't believe what had just happened.
32- How big was the baby(s)?​​
8 lbs. 4 oz.
33- Did your Husba​nd cry?
No
34- What did you name the baby(s)?
Rayden James
37- Did the baby(s) have any compl​icati​ons?
Nope. He was so perfectly healthy.
38- How old is your baby today?
He just turned one exactly a week ago. SO CRAZY!
39- When is the next one(s) comin​g?
I have no idea. Not anytime too soon. I need to get totally done with school first so that I can provide for a family.
40-​If you could​,​ would​ you do it all over again​?​
I definitely would. I just hope I won't be as sick next time though. I'm hoping and praying, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

...I tag Chrissy, Brittany, Christine, Courtney, Laurianne.......and anyone else who wants to!​

sucky Utah weather

So, I've been finally coming to the realization that I'm not in Pennsylvania anymore. OH SO SAD in the Fall. Why does it seem like Utah just skips the autumn season and goes straight to winter? I miss being able to see all the pretty colors of fall all around and crunchy leaves and the wonderful weather! I guess it's true. Pennsylvania really IS prettier and better than Utah.... :) I know I'm bias.

Rayden enjoying his cake!

I figured I'd also add this video for my family in Pennsylvania who didn't get to come to the party. We missed you!!

What a Celebration!

Rayden had a fabulous first birthday, and we had a lot of fun too! For his "real" birthday which was Friday, we just hung out as a family and had a small cake for him. The first pictures are from that night. He really enjoyed his cake, as you can see. Saturday afternoon, we had a birthday party for him, which was so much fun. There were so many people here, and we were so happy they all came! So thanks everyone! Rayden is a spoiled little boy who got LOTS of presents....too many! :) But he is loving them all and having a blast. I guess he won't be bored for a while. He really enjoyed his very chocolatey cake at his party, but it made him a little sick I think. After the party and when there were just a few close friends still around, he threw up chocolatey stuff all over my shirt and in my hair. It was pretty gross. But I washed that side of my hair and changed my shirt, and out to dinner we went. We then went to the mall and let him ride on a cool car, which he loved! Enjoy the pictures!



Rayden and mommy







Rayden waiting for Aunt Mandy to open his new
remote control she bought for him

yeah this is pretty sad. I made really fun sports cupcakes and had them on this cool All Star stand. It looked very cool before all the cupcakes were gone. I forgot to take pictures of my work. I decorated and tried so hard to make the party memorable! (For me of course since Rayden has already forgotten yesterday).

some of my decor!





woa check out his sippie cup

yeah thats not poop. just shows how much chocolate
he had all over him in the end

Rayden at the mall in his car. He was way too
excited to sit down. :)

RAYDEN IS ONE!!

Oh my goodness! This past year has gone by SO quickly! I feel like I blinked and all of a sudden Rayden is one. How do they grow up so fast? I miss my little teeny baby boy the more I look at old pictures, but I am absolutely LOVING the chance to watch him grow and learn new things every day. He is running (not just walking) and he's into everything! But I wouldn't trade any of these hectic days for any others. He is the joy of my life (along with his daddy), and everything I do and am is so that he can be better one day. I love him so much! Here are some pictures of Rayden growing up from birth! They're not in any kind of order, sorry...but you can tell which ones are old! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAYDEN!! Mommy loves her baby boy!!

50 Things About Me

I remember loving this when I was little!

which one is me?


1. I was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
2. I've lived in North Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Utah; but I consider Pennsylvania "home."
3. I love Love LOVE peanut butter.
4. My dad is Panamanian. He was actually born and grew up there; therefore, I'm half Panamanian.
5. My favorite states are Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, New York, and Maryland. They are so beautiful, and I love the trees!
6. I was the pitcher for my varsity softball team in high school.
7. I played the clarinet for many years.
8. My favorite colors are hot pink, black, and purple.
9. I love Disney movies
10. I never wear lipstick.
11. The Pittsburgh Steelers are my favorite football team.
12. Chad and I kissed on our first date.......and the rest is history.
13. I want to have at least 5 kids. 1 down....4 more to go...if I can handle the sickness.
14. I hate the crusty stuff on milk cartons. It grosses me out, even though I know it isn't bad.
15. My favorite kind of ice cream is Hagan's chocolate with peanut butter...only in Pennsylvania darn it. :(
16. I have two sisters, but I am the youngest...by 2 minutes. Yep, I am a twin.
17. Rayden is the biggest joy and most wonderful son I could ever have.
18. I absolutely LOVE the friends I have right now. I knew if I was patient I would meet really great people one day.
19. I love and miss my family.
20. Dogs are my favorite!
21. When I was younger, I LOVE whinnie the pooh and tigger too!
22. I played on our varsity soccer team in high school.
23. I am very afraid of water.
24. I hate, hate, HATE spiders.
25. I love watching The Biggest Loser & So You Think You Can Dance.
26. I broke my elbow in half when I was in second grade. I had to have pins in my arm for quite some time.
27. I learned how to ride a bike in kindergarten with no training wheels. I never tried to ride with training wheels.
28. I want to teach elementary school sometime in the near future.
29. When I was young, I used to eat spinach and then go outside and pick up the picnic table or the throw the big wheels because I thought it made me stronger like Popeye.
30. Chrissy and I would play barbies with Lisa for house on my grandpa's back porch or in Lisa's house.
31. I used to love TLC, SUV, New Kids on The Block, Paula Abdul, and Janet Jackson.
32. I remember finding out that Santa Claus wasn't real when I saw my mom and older sister putting all the presents underneath the tree. I cried for a very long time.
33. I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
34. I am very open minded and have my own opinions on things.
35. I don't like it when people are dishonest with me. It drives me crazy.
36. Family is the most important thing in my life.
37. I LOVE CHANGE. I have to change things up in my life quite often, or I get bored.
38. My favorite cereal is Cocoa Pebbles.
39. I don't like cheesecake, cottage cheese, cream cheese, guacamole, or most salsa.
40. I love playing and watching all sports. My favorite to play is softball. My favorite to watch live is baseball...on tv is football.
41. I really LOVE my in-laws. The more I talk to others, I'm so lucky to be able to say that!
42. Phil's corner store hoagies are the best hoagies ever!
43. In elementary school, they would play the Steelers fight song over the intercom on game days. It was so much fun!
44. I don't like people who force other people to do things.
45. I'm proud to be an American!
46. I don't care if I ever go out of the United States. I don't have the desire to.
47. I have 3 beautiful nieces and one handsome nephew.
48. Chad beats me at almost every sport/competition we ever play. It sucks.
49. I played basketball in elementary school and junior high.
50. I've been married for over 2 years, and I am so happy. This has been the best 2 years of my life!

some recent pics of Rayden

Here are some recent pictures of Rayden, just playing and hanging around the house.


He looks a little frustrated because Landon keeps
pushing down the music instead of him. But he did
okay sharing the fun with him!




Bath time fun...cute little boy!

Joys:
1. Mi familia. Of course. I love my fam! And I feel like since I'm teaching preschool and having class sooooooo late almost every day that I dont see them enough. :( Oh so sad!
2. Making friends. I love meeting people. It's been so fun making so many new friends in school this year. I have all the same classes with all the same girls, so its been great. We're bonding..
3. My preschoolers. I've been in my preschool practicum this semester since school started, and those 4 and 5 year olds are so darn cute and so funny. They're so honest that they say the most hilarious things, and they're not afraid of anything! Today, a little girl even brought a spider into class from the playground. Yep. Just carried it in to me. And of course I let out a quick scream and moved slowly away.

Fears:
1. Spiders. If you couldnt tell from the previous sentence. I am DEATHLY afraid of spiders. I am a person who no questions asked has arachnophobia. My heart beats quickly, I start to shake, I sweat, I turn red, and I may even cry if it gets close enough. Whatever happens, I'm leaving the room........or the house if I see one...until someone kills it.
2. Dying. I dont know why. I know it isn't the end of everything, but I still am afraid of it.
3. Airplanes. Yes I'm totally scared of planes, but that doesn't stop me from flying to Pennsylvania when I go. If there was anything as quick though, I would never fly. Never.

Goals:
1. To be the best parent I can be towards my children.
2. To finish school
3. Become more self confident.

Obsessions/Collections:
1. Watching the Biggest Loser and So You Think You Can Dance. Man those are good shows. :)
2. Rayden. He is my absolute pride and joy, and I'm obsessed with keeping him safe, having fun with him, and loving him!
3. I've started to collect fun childrens books I've been wanting for a long time. I have a small library, but there are still many more to go!

Random Facts:
1. I cringe every time I open the milk jug and see that gross, white, flaky stuff hanging on the lid. Eww.
2. I am so OCD that I pretty much always do things in some kind of order. When Chad or someone else mixes up my groove, even if I dont say anything because I know they're trying to help out, it bugs me. I've been working on it though.
3. My favorite place to go (out of all the places I've been) is Ohiopyle in Pennsylvania, along with Cucumber Falls...which is at Ohiopyle. It is a MUST that you go there someday. Also, if you never get to see Ohiopyle, you have to see Pennsylvania in the FALL...........GORGEOUS. It makes Utah look oh so sad.

okay....I tag Chrissy, Brittany, Elise V, Kirsten, and Katie

Rayden is turning one!!!

I can't belive it's almost time for our little guy to turn one! He'll be one next Friday, which is October 10th. CRAZINESS. It seems like he was just born! Now he's running around all over the place. Here's a copy of his invitation. If you want to come and bring your kids, let us know!

funny video from the tonight show

I thought this episode was so funny on Jay Leno last night. These people either look like or sound like President Bush, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama and it made me laugh.

yay for babysitters!!

So anybody who knows Rayden knows that he very rarely will fall asleep on somebody. Well when I walked in from school today, this is what I saw......so of course, me being the crazy, psycho mom that I am, I had to take a picture. Isn't Star the cutest babysitter ever?

Go Aggies!...........or NOT...

Rayden joined us at the U of U and Utah State football game last weekend, which also happened to be his first college football game to attend. It's too bad Utah State lost so bad and have such a horrible team. It was fun anyway, but it would've been more fun if they would've won, or even had a close game! I accidentally dressed Rayden in a red shirt that day, which obviously wasn't a good idea. Maybe that's why the U won? They had Rayden on their side! Either way, here he is on daddy's shoulders enjoying the game!

clever child.......

Rayden is so funny and such a little smarty pants! Chad and I were in our bedroom and letting Rayden roam around and play while we got ready, when we noticed this. Rayden pulled Chad's hair clipper box out from the bottom shelf of this stand, set it straight on the floor, and used it as a stepping stool to reach higher up onto the shelf.


He knows mommy sees him now....."look what I got mom!"

"aw man...am I in trouble?"

Nope he wasn't in trouble! It was way too cute! Isn't that so clever for such a young, little guy? I don't know where he gets his smarts from. It must be his mama.



okay....or his daddy. :)

Officially walking and 11 months old!

Chrissy asked if I would put a video up of Rayden so she could see how much he's grown since they've been in Colorado. So this is for her! (and of course everyone else to see too.) Rayden turned exactly 11 months old today. He's getting so big!! I took this video tonight at Chad's football game. Check out how good of a walker he is now! He's too cute and so funny. Notice his cute Steelers hat and shoes. Thanks Billy and Jes. Rayden knows what team is best. :)

cute boys!

We went shopping the other day and had a little girls day out, when we came across Rayden and Carter-sized couches and chairs! As you can tell, Rayden & Carter got so excited when we sat them down! It was too cute! Too bad the couch cost $200. Sorry, Rayden. Mommy loves you...but there's no way we're paying $200 for a mini couch when our entire living room set cost $250.



This is the life..

A nice, leisurely Sunday stroll!

Daddy, mommy, and Rayden


Rayden looking so relaxed


On an adventure! So much to see!




The whole gang...minus Chrissy, Chris, and Landon though :(

Since Brittany tagged me, I figured I better do this! I don't know if I can really think of EIGHT things for all these categories, but here goes........

8 things that i am passionate about...
1. Chaddy
2. Rayden
3. Family
4. Friends
5. The gospel
6. My hair (even tho if never looks as good as I wish)
7. Eyeliner
8. Cleaning my house.......yeah....psycho

8 words or phrases i use often...
1. I love you
2. Come see mommy!!
3. whatever..
4. I'm hungry!
5. Aww thats so cute!
6. Hun.. I found a good sale...(agree with Brittany on that one)
7. We really need this...(also agree with Brittany hehe)
8. honey!

8 things i want to do before i die...
1. Have more kids
2. Watch my kids grow up
3. Become a better person
4. Live closer to my family (or at least see them more)
5. Watch Chad succeed at whatever he wants to do (he worries about that..but I know he can do it!)
6. See Celine Dion in concert
7. Go back to Disneyland
8. ...........

8 things i have learned from my past..
1. It's okay to make mistakes
2. The gospel is true....and its evident from the life I have today
3. Being pregnant and having a child is one of the greatest blessings...no matter what people tell you..
4. Love your family......they're always here for you and are the most important people in your life
5. Watch who you trust.....even your best friend could screw you over
6. Don't take time for granted
7. People who care for you are there for you! (agree with Brit once again..sorry!)
8.................yeah i cant think of anything else right now...

8 places i would love to go or see..
1. Stonehenge
2. Italy
3. Pennsylvania
4. bed
5. France
6. Colorado (to see Chrissy, Chris and Landon)
7. ....................
8. .........

8 things i currently need or want...
1. Furniture set for our bedroom
2. New clothes as always...
3. Celine Dion concert tickets (the good seats....no cheap ones)
4. A new camera (when I say new, I mean fancy) :)
5. A full body massage
6. A makeover
7. Money
8. My family close by

8 people i tag..
1. Kari
2. Dayna
3. Elise L.
4. Kirsten
5. Christine
6. Laurianne
7. Julianne
8. Brooke

Recently, Rayden took his first 'real' steps, as Chad and I consider them to be. He took the most steps he'd ever taken in this video, but now he walks even more! It's so cute to watch him learn new things and grow....but it's also so sad because he's growing so fast!

The Taylor Pad

Welcome to the home of the Taylors! Since people keep asking me what my house looks like, I figured I would show you...... here's the tour! We'll start right at the beginning! This is obviously the front of our house, the garage, and our front yard.



Our back yard and patio...and yess..we know the grass needs cut.

Our comfy living room.


Another angle of the living room, with the
dining room in the back.


Our nice, spacious kitchen. I love it!!


The little stinker's room!




Check out his basketball hoop hamper. And this closet is so big. It's as big as the doors you see and the walls around it. All 3 bedrooms have huge closets like this. It's so sweet.

Our computer room/guest bedroom. When someone comes to stay, the air mattress goes in here. Probably not the greatest and most comfortable thing to sleep on, but it does its job!


The guest bathroom, all decked in outdoorsy stuff.
We really like this bathroom.


Another view of the guest bathroom


Our bedroom, obviously. It's pretty plain still, but I'll figure something out someday..

Our master bathroom. I cant stress enough
how nice it is to have so much space!


So there you go. This is where we reside and make most of our happy memories together. We love it!

My new toy!

So since Chad got himself a motorcycle for our anniversary, he thought it might be nice if I got my own! Except not a motorycyle........but a scooter! I absolutely LOVE it! Pretty huh?

Swing swing swing....all day long

Fun times @ the lake

We went boating @ Joe's Valley on Kirk's boat the other day, and it was so fun! Chad & the guys are so good at doing crazy tricks on the wakeboard and knee board. It just reminded me how much I suck at it. Rayden didn't really enjoy having to wear the life jacket, but I told him that's just too bad kiddo cuz mommy is the boss of you! :) He didn't really fuss too long, and it turned out to be a really fun day. Check out Rayden's hair from putting sunscreen in it. We thought it was pretty funny.

Rayden loves his grandma!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa, Aunt Mandy, & Uncle Tyson!



Grandma & Rayden


*Family Camping Trip*

TAG!

Four Places I go Over and Over:
1. Store
2. home
3. bathroom
4. up and down the stairs (chasing Rayden of course)

Four people who email me regularly:
1. Junk mail
2. Aunt Brenda
3. Gina
4. more junk

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Home (Logan)
2. Disneyland yeah!
3. Home (Pennsylvania)
4. anywhere as long as Chad & Rayden are there

Four people I talk to on a regular basis:
1. Chad
2. Chrissy
3. Rayden
4. Chrissy some more

Four of my favorite places to eat:
1. Marie Callendars
2. Cafe Sabor
3. Olive Garden
4. Chinese buffets

Four people I tag:
1. Chrissy
2. Brittany
3. Kari
4. Brooke

vroom vroom vroooooooom!!!

Here is a picture of our new motorcycle as promised. It's a 2007 Honda Shadow, and it is now Chad's baby of course. Rayden likes it too! (And I don't mind it much either.) It's so fun to ride!

ugh

I'm sitting here looking at our wedding pictures, as I do quite often..........and I'm so sad that I dont have a lot of really good ones! They're either too dark, too bright, one of us is smiling and the other isn't, or we're not even looking at the camera. :( I guess thats what I get for not going professional though. dangit.

Happy Anniversary to us!!

I have to say that it has been the greatest experience of my life to be married to Chad for the past 2 years...and to be friends with him for the last 3. He is such a wonderful person that anybody would be lucky to know, and I get to spend all my time with him so I'm the luckiest person in the world!! We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary this past Monday, August 11th, and I cannot believe that 2 years have gone by already! I love him so much and am so thankful for all his hard work and his love for Rayden and me. I want the world to know that he is the greatest person I could ever ask to spend all my life and eternity with.

For our anniversary, since Chad is still working for the Forest Serice, we met in Salt Lake and then orem and hung out, went bowling, went to dinner with the family, and had a blast! It was just great to be able to spend the day together with Chad and Rayden. We also bought ourselves a special gift since Chad has been wanting one FOREVER..............................a motorcycle woo hoo!! Chad was like a little kid at Christmas when we bought him a 2007 Honda Shadow. It's all black, and it's sweet! I"ll put a picture of it up as soon as we take one! Happy anniversary, Chad!!

so sad!

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives in Logan without Chris, Chrissy, and Landon. And it's so sad!! My sister, Chrissy, along with her little family, moved today to Vail, Colorado........which is like 8 hours away....to begin their new lives. We've been hanging out so long and watching our babies grow together, and it's going to be so different not seeing them every day! I'm really excited for them, but I'm for sure going to miss them. I'm espeically going to miss Landon's cute smiles and watching him grow up. He's so cute!! I wish them the best of luck and I hope they have fun. Maybe they'll become friends with Catherina Zeta Jones or Michael Douglas.......or Trista and Ryan!!!! :)

No more this year!

ok ok ok! I absolutely LOVE So You Think You Can Dance! I never miss an episode, and I for sure have my favorites every season. This season was so good, and now it's over!!!! Ahhh!! Now what will I do with my time on Wednesday and Thursday nights? The top 4 dancers this season were so good, and I'm glad Josh won. I liked them all (Joshua, Twitch, Courtney, and Katee) so I really didn't care too much who won. However, I do need to say that I think if they were going to choose a top girl and a top guy, then they should've told us viewers so we could vote in that way. I think Twitch should've got $50,000 for being in 2nd place, not Katee for being the top girl. Anyway, though, this season was so good and you should all watch it next year if you havent watched it ever. You'll love it!!! I'm so sad its over!! P.s....this is a pic of Joshua!

finally!

So we're pretty proud parents who think our son is so darn bright..and here's another instance to back up our thoughts. We've realized again with just one more thing just how smart Rayden is! This morning Chad taught him how to go down the stairs backwards and slide his way down because he seems to fall down them every so often and we really dont want any broken bones on our little boy. Chad thought he got the hang of it, but we figured we'd have to reteach him again tonight since we were gone all day in Price. So did he need taught all over again? HECK NO! He's such a smarty pants! Not long after we got back tonight, we let him go upstairs....and he turned around and just started sliding his way back down without any reminder or help. So anyway, we just wanted the world to know that we are the parents of one smart 10 month old baby boy!!

I was just looking through some old pictures on the computer when I realized that today is August 4, 2008. Exactly 2 years ago, I went through the Manti LDS temple for the first time, along with Chad's sister Mandy........and then 7 days later, Chad and I got married in the Bountiful temple. It was such an exciting day for all of us (a little bit of an overwhelming day for me), but we were all so happy and anxiously awaiting getting married in a week. The past two years have flown by so quickly, and I know its because we've been so happy. Time flies when you're having so much fun. Here's a picture of our family in Manti that day....a memory that will stay with me forever.

Oops!!

I was messing with some stuff on my blog and accidentally deleted lots of stuff as you can tell! So oops! But message me and give me your addresses so I can re add you all okay! Thanks!

yay for animals!

Rayden and I went to the Willow Park Zoo with Chrissy, Landon, Brittany, and Carter. It was so much fun! See for yourself.




the monkey climbing around



these turtles were so big!



This was Rayden's reaction to seeing the animals



Mommy and Rayden

sneaky boy..

I caught Rayden pulling all the dvds down off of our entertainment stand. He tries to be sneaky, but mommy is always watching hehe. :)

Here he is climbing up to the stand



Now he's pulling the dvds down



Oops...mom caught him!

ABC TAG

A - Attached or single? Attached at the hip to my cutie pie son Rayden.......or I guess I should say he is attached to my hip. And also attached to my amazing husband Chad of almost 2 years. I can't believe its been 2 years already. Time flies when you're having so much fun.

B - Best friend? Chad Austin Taylor

C - Cake or pie? mmmmmmmmmm chocolate cake with chocolate icing...yummy

D - Day of choice? hmmm.....I dont work so every day probably seems like a play day for Rayden and me. I would say my day of choice is any day that I get to see Chaddy.

E - Essential item? some kind of chap stick

F - Favorite color? Hot pink....but dark purple and black come in second

G - Gummy bears or worms? naaaa I'd rather have a candy bar or something :)

H - Hometown? Uniontown, Pennsylvania........with some of the prettiest land in my opinion....yesss........even pretty than much of Utah I think...

I - Indulgences? chocolate ice cream, brownies, chap stick, Chad, cake, and Rayden

J - January or July? July.....its so nice and warm outside!

K - Kids? a very handsome almost ten month old son Rayden

L - Life isn't complete without? my family

M - Marriage date? August 11, 2006

N - Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters (Briana and Christina)

O - Oranges or apples? I like to eat apples more....but I love orange juice more than apple juice...weird huh?

P - Phobias or fears? oh my gosh SPIDERS are the things I am absolutely terrified of most as anyone who knows me can attest to. But I also am constantly afraid of losing people.....I miss my family

Q - Quote? "In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different"

R - Reason to smile? Rayden, the cutest little boy in all the world...and my fantastic husband Chad. They are FOR SURE my reasons to smile each and every day.

S - Season of choice? definitely Fall. I absolutely LOVE the weather, the colors, crunchy leaves, wearing hoodies, and it was when Rayden was born

T - Tag six: Chrissy, Laurianne, Dayna, Brittany, Brooke, Elise

U - Unknown fact about me? I really hate that yucky crusty ring of milk when you open the lid. It really grosses me out.

V - Vegetable? I absolutely LOVE asparagus and zucchini

W - Worst habit? grinding my teeth probably

X - X-ray or ultrasound? i cant remember last time i had an x ray.........i had a few ultrasounds when I was pregnant

Y - Your favorite food? spaghetti or anything else italian

Z - Zodiac sign? Scorpio

1 – Number of kids I have

2 – Number of full days we'll be camping! yay!

3 – Number of kids who play together at my house all the time haha...the 3 musketeers: Rayden, Landon, and Carter

4 – Weeks until Chrissy moves to Colorado :(

5 – is the number of kids I would like to have someday

6 – years since I moved to Utah!

7 – the time Batman starts tonight!

8 –the age my niece just turned..

9 – years ago I didnt even have my drivers license!

10 – number I was in high school in all the sports I played

updates!

So I figured I'd update our blog and let you know how things are going in our world! Chad is now home from California and we get to spend the next 3 days together. woo hoo!! Rayden and I are very excited and love when daddy is home. :) We're going on a family camping trip this weekend with Chad's parents, brothers, and sisters, and we know thats going to be a lot of fun. Rayden now has 8 teeth....four on top and four on bottom, and he has learned to stand all by himself. He's getting so big!! It's amazing how fast time goes. When he was born, I heard that phrase so many times. 'You better cherish all the time he's young because time will fly.' And its so true. We're having so much fun with him. I'm especially having a blast. I'm usually home alone with him while Chad is gone on fires so Rayden is sure becoming a mommy's boy. But that's okay with me. :) We have made some friends around our neighborhood, and Chrissy, Chris, and Landon are still in Logan, so its nice to always have visitors and not be so lonely. Well, thats our short amount of news for today. I'll update some pictures when I get a chance!

Carter is Rayden's best friend these days besides Landon. :) Here they are enjoying the sunshine in Carter's pool!

So Chad is in California right now fighting fires, and before that he was in other places fighting fires. WE MISS HIM!!! "Dad" is still the only real word that Rayden clearly says, and it's so cute. Last weekend, Chad had 2 days off from work so he got to come home and we got to see each other after almost 3 weeks of not seeing him. Anyway, we had a lot of fun taking Rayden to the pool and it was fun seeing them have their daddy and son time.

4th of July fun!

I havent been online in a while, so i'm a little behind on my posts. For the 4th of July, we went to see a lot of fireworks. At first, Rayden was pretty scared because he's afraid of loud noises. But he warmed up to them and started laughing and clapping and said a perfect "yay" by the end of the night. Here are some fun pics of his first 4th!! :)

relaxing at home

*home sweet home*

Rayden rockin out on guitar hero

rub a dub dub!

playin in rayden's room

Rayden loves swimming across the street with Mason. Mason is just a month and a half or so older than he is. Check out how much fun they had in the cute Finding Nemo pool and all the fun accessories. How cute are our little boys!




Rayden likes to head butt things...

Mason with his cute floaties!

Rayden loungin around...

go steelers!

I love this picture because you can see Rayden's 2 big front teeth!



So Chrissy and I have the cutest Steelers outfits that we dressed the boys in the other day. check out how cute they look!

summer fun!

yay! we went swimming for the first time this summer! :) its a new state law that kids under 3 years old have to wear these reusable underwear things over their swimming diapers. and although all 3 boys were stuck wearing girly underpants, we had a lot of fun. it was rayden's first time swimming ever, so it was exciting! we went with chrissy, chris, christine, and their babies. here are some pictures from our hot day in the sun.

growing up so fast!

I just thought everyone should know that Rayden now has 6 teeth! All of a sudden 2 more appeared. he's getting so big!

Chris and Chrissy were in Ferron visiting us, which was nice since Rayden and Landon missed each other! We went for walks, went fishing, and just hung out for a couple days. We loved it!

Mmmmmmmm!!!

So one day we thought Rayden might enjoy a red vine. Hmmm..what do you think?

Our Pennsylvania trip

Chad and me at the Pirates Game


Briana and Rayden


Billy boy! :)


Like I said before, Chad, Rayden, and I went to Pennsylvania to visit my family, and it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from our trip!

We're baaaaaaaaaaaack!

So our old blog was having major issues, so i FINALLY got around to starting a new one! and woa do we have updates since last time we posted! We went to Pennsylvania to visit my family at the beginning of May and that was a lot of fun. They all got to meet Rayden, so they were happy about that. It was so great to see my mom, sister, nieces, pappy, and the rest of my family. I miss them all so much when I'm gone. The cutest part was seeing my cousin's baby Billy.......man he's adorable. I'll have to post some pictures from our trip when I get a chance. Since we've been back from there, we came to Ferron, Utah where Chad's family lives and where Chad's forest service job is. We've been here ever since. He's just waiting for some fires to fight somewhere. We've just been hanging out and having fun, but we're going back to Logan on Thursday so that will be nice. I miss my home!! There have been many changes since summer began.....mainly changes with Rayden that is. He is now a crawling maniac who gets into anything and EVERYTHING he sees, no matter how far away it is or how small it is. He can see a rice krispy or cheerio on the floor under the kitchen table from miles away it seems.......and he bolts as quickly as he can towards it and into his mouth it goes. Which also makes things tougher now for the mom...me of course. Because now he will put ANYTHING into his mouth so thats not a good thing. I always have my eyes on him thats for sure...and I'm always making sure everything is off the floor. He has 4 teeth now, 2 front teeth on top and 2 on the bottom....and boy are they so adorable. Did I mention that he now also pulls himself up and stands up to anything he can?.......the chair, the couch, the table, the toy bin...everything. sometimes thats a bad idea because he falls just as quickly as he gets up. buts its so cute to watch him grow up so big and tough! he's certainly a strong little man. He is also climbing up the stairs now faster than we can blink. So its going to be nice when we get home to Logan because we don't have any stairs to worry about him going up and falling down. It'll take a while before he learns to go down so I'm glad I won't have to worry about that at home. It will make my life a teeny bit easier anyway. Other than Rayden's growth, there's really nothing new going on in the lives of the Taylor family. I'm just busy busy being mommy and Chad's busy working and being a good daddy.