I don't put up with that

It's not always smiles and giggles in the Taylor house, occasionally we get cranky days when we just don't want to listen and we are naughty for no reason. Today was no exception. Brye has been naughty all day since she got out of bed. It's Thursday so we went to Tumbling Class but she didn't want to follow direction and when she couldn't do something she got cranky and threw a fit. After class she wouldn't eat her lunch and then she wouldn't share with Abbi. There was no way she earned her stay at Grandma's house so she doesn't get to stay at Grandma's tonight. She wouldn't even give Grandma a kiss when she was leaving. This is the corner that Brye frequents on such naughty days. When told to go to the corner she has to stay there for three minutes (since she is three years old) and the time doesn't start until she is quiet. Pretty soon it will be dinner time because someone needs to go to bed early tonight.

Seeing double

Because of all the Photoshop work I do I need all the desktop space I can get. A few years ago when we had a PC laptop I could hook it up to a separate monitor and use two displays. When our laptop died we got a Mac but only had one monitor to work with. I have been living with that for a long time but I miss the days when I could use two displays. For our Anniversary Peter bought me the convertor my computer needs to run dual monitors and then my Dad and Judy gave me their old display since they got a new one when they ordered their new computer. So once again I am running with two displays. This really helps me out because I can put all my tools on one screen and then just work on my picture on the other screen, thus making a larger image for me to work with. I am so happy to have two monitors again, I really missed all the space I had before, but now it's even better because I have two 19 inch instead of one 17 inch and the laptop display. The only thing better would be the one 30 inch display I have had my eye on for a couple years now, but until the price drops even further from the original $3,000 price tag I am happy to have this great setup. Thanks Dad and Judy for the second monitor!

Cache On!

I had another DRs appointment this morning so after the girls and I dropped Peter off at work and ran a couple errands we found some caches to add to our numbers. We went to this one park that had a huge airplane and in order to get credit for the cache you had to take pictures of it. Brye really liked the plane, she kept telling me it was huge.

Then later we drove through a neighborhood and there were easily 20 peacocks wondering the streets. Cool!!

Coin Collecting

Every night when Peter comes home he empties his pockets onto the night stand, then in the morning I put all the spare change into a jar. Today I cleaned out my purse so there were a lot of coins to be added. I asked the girls if they would like to do it and of course they did. Brye and I taught Abbi to hold the coin upright so that it fit through the slot cut in the lid. They had fun taking turns dropping the coins in and when they were all done Brye told me to find more. :)

Mazel taf!!

Today, Peter and I had another Bar Mitzvah to shoot. We had a really good time and it was easily the biggest party either of us has ever been to, including all the weddings we have seen. Hopefully we will get more work out of this one, as there were a lot of boys who were having birthdays in the near future. We are both so tired now, it is time for bed.

Someone's sleepy

Another long day for us here at the Taylor household. We didn't do anything exciting but we kept busy playing and cleaning. Nothing finishes off a busy day like Brye's favorite, Mac and Cheese. Brye and Abbi just eat it up!

Ouch

The other day I was hiding a new geocache and when I got closer to the car I noticed this huge dent and marks on it. I immediately called Peter and asked him what he did but he had no clue what I was talking about. We determined that while Peter was working someone must have run into our car in the parking lot and just took off. It's really sad that there are people like that out there, I mean our phone number is all over the car, it would have been so easy for them to give us a call. Whoever it was must have really been going fast to hit us that hard and do that much damage to a parked car. It looks a little better than it did because we got some of the marks from the other car off but it still looks pretty bad. Our neighbor said he would help us try to get the dent out and then we should use some rubbing compound to get the rest of the marks off. There is of course a lot of our own paint scraped off but I don't think it could look much worse than it does now. Oh well, at least they hit our bumper, an easily fixed area that is only cosmetic. If they had hit the side of our car the automatic doors would be sure not to work.

Flutterby

In our garden we get a lot of pretty butterflies roaming from flower to flower. I love to just sit back and watch them, I think they are so pretty and so peaceful. There is one neighborhood cat, however, who enjoys chasing them and then eating them if he gets a chance. I have watch out for him and try to keep him from doing that but I am not always around to keep the butterflies safe. There is a large cocoon in our tree that I have shown to Brye, we are still waiting for a beautiful butterfly to emerge from it any day now.

So busy

Once again we had a busy day in the Taylor household. I had two doctor's appoint-
ments this morning and Peter had to work open to close with a meeting after work. We dropped the girls off at Laura's house so that Brye and Reagan could play together and Abbi could just hang out. After I was done with my appointments I went and picked them up. Thanks Laura, it really helped us out today when we had things that had to be done! After that I met up with Reba and we spent the rest of the day window shopping until we had dinner at her house. It worked out really well because I really didn't want to have to drive all the way home just to turn around and drive back to pick up Peter. Thanks for the sandwiches Reba, Peter ate them all up.

Brye's Letter

Our friends that moved to PA have a little boy that has always been fond of Brye (but who hasn't?). Gabriel is five years old and him and Brye write each other letters in the mail. They draw and color pictures and send photographs and letters. We just recieved a letter from Gabe asking Brye to send something else up to him. So Brye colored a picture she got from her tumbling class and we sent him a photograph of me holding him when he was just a couple months old. Brye decorated the back of the envelope with so many stickers we probably have to put an extra stamp on it. We will put the letter in the mail tomorrow so Gabriel will have it soon. Wait by the mailbox Gabe, it's coming!

Busy Day

This morning Peter and I woke up early and went to shoot a Bar Mitzvah. We only had shoot the ceremony so it only took us about an hour which was nice. Then later we had to drive out to Mount Dora to shoot a last minute wedding. We were only booked for preceremony, ceremony, and formals so it took us about two hours. After we picked up the girls from my mom's house we went out to dinner with our friends, Michael and Angela. It was a really busy day and we are really tired now, but we accomplished a lot and were very productive.

Split Level

Earlier today I went out to the garage to get something out of the fridge, instead I found this huge crack stretching the length of the garage along the floor. Peter and I built this house and moved in three years ago this month. We have a ten year warranty that is suppose to cover all structural damage caused by the builders neglect. Hopefully when we call them on Monday they won't give us any hassle and will come out and fix us up. So far we have had only small things go wrong with the house, things you can expect from any house, so overall we are still happy with the job done. I guess we will see how happy we will be come this Monday.

Snugglie Bears!

Yesterday, after Brye's tumbling class, we went to Ross with my mom to kill time before going to the 50 cent theater. I found a new Snugglie Bear and Abbi wouldn't let it go so I bought it for her. Now she has two to love so if we lose one it's not such a loss. In the picture Abbi's hugging them and rocking in her chair.

Monkey

You know it's true, you really have to keep an eye on your children at all times. As soon as you look away they are up to something else (literally).

Helping me out

Well, normalcy had resumed and that means we need to get this house clean. There's a lot to do but it isn't so bad since I have Brye to help me out. Together we did the dishes and the laundry and she helped me every step of the way. I really don't mind doing the house work when I get such great help. If only everyone could be so lucky :)

We made it!

We're home, sorry I have neglected the blog these last few days but we were busy with our little road trip to stop and post any notes. 23 geocaches, about 1200 miles, two great new friends, and two cranky children later we made home in one piece. We had a great trip and visit but we are so tired after all the excitement and driving we are happy to be back in our beds tonight, and I know Lucy-Goose is really happy we're home. Don't worry though, life as we know it has returned so I will get back to updating our blog daily. Thanks for being patient with me, sorry I kept you waiting so long.

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

Saturday was Peter and I's 6 year anniversary. It is hard to believe that it's been six years but on the other hand it seems like we have been together forever (in a good way). We had a great time on our day, we didn't have anything planned so we just relaxed and hung out at our friend's house. Can't wait to get started on another great year!!

Abbi's ready

Peter and I are taking the girls on a little road trip this weekend for our Anniversary (Saturday). It will be 6 years that we have been married; and all those people said we wouldn't last when we started dating. Peter managed to get a couple days in a row off so what better thing to do than get away (and grab a couple caches while we're at it)? I told the girls to go pack their things but when I went to get Abbi's bag this is what I found...

Sometimes if feels like there are five of her

I love Photoshop and I always have a great time playing with pictures and as you can imagine the girls are my favorite subject. Here a picture of Abbi playing on the chair, she just learned how to climb up there so she likes to be a big kid like her big sister Brye. Hope you enjoy!!

Brye's Puzzle

We bought Brye a puzzle of the United States shortly after she turned two. She put it together one time with a little help from us and since then she has been able to do the whole thing together by herself. Click on the link below to watch a sped up recording of Brye putting together the puzzle. There is music to it that makes it really cute so make sure your sound is turned on.

Brye's Puzzle

Playing in Traffic

Peter and I were taking some long exposure shots a long time ago; I came across them today so I thought I would post one.

New Blossoms

The water lily I had been waiting to blossom finally opened a couple days ago. I could see the bud coming up from under the water and checked on it everyday to catch a peek at the first appearance. I took a few days but I finally got to see the bright white petals and deep yellow center. These flowers always look so perfect, most people think they are plastic.




Today was the last day for the Water Lily, it opened to it's fullest phase and then closed itself in to sink back into the water. Hopefully we will get another one soon, they add so much vibrancy to the Koi Pond and Brye and I always have fun seeing the new buds about to blossom.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday to the best mom and Grandma in the world. To help celebrate Brye helped me make Grandma cup cakes which we gave to her yesterday when she came over for Tumbling Class. Hope you have the best birthday yet! We all love you!!

Fun For Fifty Cents

Another Thursday another Tumbling Class. Brye did so well again in her class, she did everything Miss Brooke instructed and even was her helper a few times. She set a great example for all the new students today and earned her night at Grandma's House. Today was a big day for Brye in her tumble class because she actually got in "the Pit" I got in with her so she wouldn't be so scared and she crawled all the way across. Brye said she really didn't like it and she cried most of the time we were in there but I was still SO Proud of her for getting all the way to the other side! After class we went to the Fifty cent movie theater and saw Over the Hedge. It was really cute and we will probably go again (for fifty cents, why not?). Posted is a picture of Abbi enjoying the show before all the lights went off, we had popcorn too which always makes her happy.

Who's Splashing?!

Abbi use to hate bath time but now it is one of her favorite things! She stands up in the tub and runs in circles and then plops down with both her hands first to make a huge splash. She does this over and over agian until she is panting her breath and really tired. That's when I wash her hair because she doesn't fight so much when I get water in her face. Though from the look of these pictures you would think water in her face wouldn't bother her much. Silly girl!

Gardening Time

When the sun started to settle a little and we had a breeze going outside the girls and I went out to play in the garden. I deadheaded all the dying buds off my flowers and Brye pulled them apart and spread the seeds out. Abbi helped by making sure Brody (the neighborhood cat) didn't interfere with our work by jumping in the flowers and trying to play. I am so lucky to have such great helpers to keep our garden pretty. While we were out I showed Brye a giant cocoon that is due to open any day and we saw lots of cool spiders and lizards. My Passion Flower has about 6 large blossoms on it and I think we are getting a new water lily in our Koi pond, I will have to keep my eye on it.