The Taylor Family: February 2011

Out and Around

I know I have been neglecting the blog and I sincerely apologize. I do intend to keep things up to date on here but sometimes my intentions fall short due to the lack of time or motivation. Also, if I don't have photos to post with my narratives I get discouraged and would almost rather not post. I will try to be better about all of this. Nothing really new going on here. Just the same old day to day stuff. Girls in school and doing well and Peter is busy with his work which is a blessing and though it can be overwhelming we really can't ask for anything more. My job is going well and things are seeming to pick up after what was looking to be a promisingly slow year. Javan is just as crazy as ever but Oh such a joy! He went to my mom's for a few days this week to get some Grandma time in while giving Peter some time to focus on getting some of the 20+ guitars out of our house and back to their owners. A while ago we had tried to see our friend, Reba, but she had to bail on us due to overload at work. This weekend we decided to try again. Peter and I dropped the girls off at Grandma's last night and then he and I headed over to Tampa. We met Reba (after a very long 3 hour traffic jam of a mess) and went out to dinner with her and a friend. Dinner was very good and Peter and I were both starving. After dinner we went back to her place and spent the night after hanging out some. This morning we got up and said good bye to Reba then headed out to Panera breakfast for just the two of us. So often when we are get caught up in our work, house, church, even our family that we forget to spend time alone. My mom is very gracious though and is always willing to watch out children so we can grab a moment away. We stayed in Tampa for the morning and then drove to Lakeland where there is a nice little outside mall. We walked around and checked out the stores and picked up a little gift for the kids to show them that though we like to be alone with each other we love them too. Peter's Aunt and Uncle live nearby there so they came over to meet us for lunch and Peter's cousin and her husband joined us too. We ate at Mimi's and had a great time chatting. Because of the distance we don't get to see all of them as often as we would like and usually we have the children and are a little distracted.

Family Day at Sanford FD/PD

Since today is President's Day the kids had off from school, for some reason though, I still had to work. I didn't mind, I actually haven't been into work since last Tuesday because I had my PEAF State Conference the last half of last week. I knew there would be a bit of stuff waiting for me but I had set up my out of office email alert and changed my voicemail so people would know I wasn't around. Since there is no school today the Fire Department decided to have their annual Family Day and since the Police Department now shares a building with the FD we joined in on their fun. All employees families were invited and food was provided. Peter brought the kids up and I met them out front before we got some lunch cooked by the Firefighters. Once we finished eating we walked over to a few things the FD had set up for the kids.

One station had Jr. Firefighter gear that the kids had to hurry and get on and walk around in, just like the real Firefighters! It was so cute and a blast to see the kids in it. Javan and Abbi got all dressed and were showing off their stuff, Bresa was not interested I think she was embarrassed to do it. Once Javan and Abbi had shed their fire gear we watched the PD motorist (motorcycle unit) give a cool demonstration on how much control and handling they have of their bikes. Javan liked this because they had their lights going the whole time. Our FD just purchased a brand new fire engine this year. The truck is so new they haven't even taken it on a call yet. They had the truck all set up and the kids could get in and look around but Javan liked the

really big wheels best of all. After we grabbed a piece of cake we went up to my office so I could show the girls around since they hadn't seen the new place yet. They were really intrigued by my ID badge that unlocked all the doors just by waving it in front of the panel. I showed Bresa the Crime Scene lab in my office and she said, "Wow Mommy, do you do science in here?" Abbi was very impressed with all the space that I had and that I got to decorate my desk and area however I wanted to. She was happy that I had some pictures she had made me up on my wall and I told her and Bresa that I needed some new drawings from them. Abbi also really liked my stamps (Rush-Juvenile, Dead File, PD address, Faxed, etc). I don't know when

'Take your child to work day' is but if the PD lets me (sometimes they have issues due to sensitivity) I will bring the girls back so they see how things work.
I would have taken a lot more pictures but, of course, I didn't think to charge my battery beforehand and it was just about dead.
The other great thing about today was that my friend, Radley, came by while she was down visiting from Virginia! It was so good to see you Radley, you have no idea how much you are missed! Work is just not the same without you. :(

Enjoying the Air

This weekend was just beautiful here in Central FL and I just couldn't stand the thought of staying indoors and not enjoying the gorgeous weather. After church and lunch Abbi asked if they could play out back and I was happy to get out their bubble machines and chalk so they could

do just that. Javan was taking a nap when the girls went out around 2:00 and when he woke up he couldn't wait to get his shoes on to go play. I left to teach Crown close to 4:00 and Peter said they played a long time after I had left. I love that the girls enjoy playing outside.

When I was a kid the only reason we played inside was due to rain and even then we usually were on the back porch of someone's house.

Birthday Celebration

Tonight we went over to Tina and Noah's house to celebrate Reba's 30th birthday. Tina had made a nice dinner and invited over a

few friends and Reba's parent's and sister, Sheba. Rena was on call at the hospital so she couldn't come down for the fun. Dinner was great and afterward there was delicious cake. The girls and Javan enjoyed their food and dessert and then watched a couple movies while the rest of us just hung out and caught up. We had a nice relaxing evening before packing up to make it home. Happy Birthday Reba!! We hope this decade treats you well!

A Morning Out

Peter has lots of work to do and the guitars are piling up but this evening we have plans to go to Tina and Noah's house to celebrate Reba's birthday. Since Peter wasn't going to be able to work tonight I figured I would take the kids away and let Daddy have some nice quiet time that he could use to just focus on his job without children distractions. Our annual zoo membership is good until the end of next month and since the weather

has really gotten nice out I wanted to take the kids somewhere outside. When we got to the zoo it looked like there were a lot of cars but when we got in there was hardly anyone around. We went to each exhibit and Javan was really taken by all the animals. He just stopped and stared at each one and said, "hi" and, "bye bye." We went in the petting zoo area and the girls found a lot of food that other people had dropped so they picked it up and fed it to the goats, cows, sheep, and llama. I never remember to bring cash so I was glad there was a lot of the pellets to be found. Pretty soon Javan figured it out too and was feeding all the animals as well. They all had a great time in there then they washed their hands really well and we went on to see the rest. My favorite animals are always the big cats. I could sit and watch them all day long. Our zoo has leopards and cheetahs and when you get there before noon you can usually see them walking around rather than just lying down somewhere far off in the exhibits. The girls favorite thing is the butterfly garden. Today there weren't any butterflies but we walked around and looked at all the flowers and plants. There was a groundskeeper there that was giving away little citrus fruits right from the tree in the garden.

I don't know what kind of fruit it was but they looked like little oblong oranges peel and all. The keeper said to eat the entire thing and at first it would be very tart but then it would get nice and sweet. The kids were more than eager to try and they puckered up with the tart part but soon you could see the relief on their faces. Abbi didn't like it but Bresa and Javan had seconds. The last animal we saw was the Green Winged Macaws. Javan just stared and stared and then they started making noises. He was so intrigued. The girls

and I walked away and I was calling for Javan to come but he was so focused on the birds. I heard high pitched screaming and thought it was Javan trying to get the birds to talk back but then realized it was the birds talking to him. Eventually I was able to get Javan to come to and we decided to head out so we could get home and get some lunch and hopefully get Javan a nap.

Tyler and Garret's Birthdays

Instead of celebrating Valentine's Day with my husband tonight we went over to my mom's house and celebrated my nephews birthdays since they would both be in town. This was the only night we would all be available so we decided we would make it work. Peter had planned to make me a nice romantic steak dinner with all my favorite fixings and put the kids to bed early but I

suppose we will have to postpone that for another night. After I got home from work we headed to mom's. We already knew we wouldn't be able to stay real late because of work and school in the morning. We got to mom's and had dinner and then the boys opened their gifts. I mostly just talked to Steve and Heather about the Disney cruise they just got home from yesterday. Their pictures were great and it was obvious they had a good time. We tried to get a picture of all the cousins (except Charlotte who wasn't there) together and we managed but Javan was extremely over-tired so he didn't want to cooperate. We had a good time though we didn't get to stay too long and then we headed home to get everyone to bed.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning I got up a little earlier than usual and after getting all set for work I got some things ready for the kids. I tied balloons on each of their chairs and put two red roses in a vase for the girls from Daddy. Then I made them waffles which I cut into hearts and then cut up bananas and strawberries to go with them. I didn't get to see the girls expressions when they saw their surprise but Peter told me they were excited and Javan ate all his

breakfast up quick. When I got home the girls told me thank you a bunch of times and then told me all about their Valentines parties at school. I told the girls that I got 18 beautiful roses delivered to me at the station today from their wonderful Daddy.

Preparing

Valentine's Day is coming and that means there are some things to get done. The girls have been talking all week about the parties they having in school to celebrate. I had taken the girls to Michael's a couple weeks ago to let them pick out the valentines they wanted to get for their classmates. I don't like the little paper tear-off cards that you just write your name on the kids always enjoy working on their crafts. Abbi picked out cool

pencil holders that are different animals that you assemble and then wrap around the pencil using pipe cleaners. Bresa chose the more traditional hearts but ones that have spiral foam decorations and sequins to be glued on. The girls both worked really hard on the valentines

and then Abbi had to also make a box to receive her valentines in from the other children. Once they were all done they were both very excited to hand out their crafts that they had worked so hard on completing. The girls can't wait to go to school on Monday.

Cow Fun

Since Mommy and Daddy got to have fun today we figured the kids should have some fun too. Chick-fil-A was putting on a Valentine's Day Party this evening so figured it would make a good easy dinner for us all. When we got there the girls rushed right over to the craft stations while Daddy ordered food for us all. The

girls made little paper pencil grips and decorated a card using heart stencils. After we ate our dinner they moved on to the bean bag toss and then filled out a Chick-fil-A card to give to Grandma. Javan loves the cows at Chick-fil-A and every time we go he has to say hello and goodbye to all the cardboard cut outs and any cows he may see on the balloons around. Well tonight the Chick-fil-A cow was there dancing and giving high fives to all the kids.

Javan was totally in awe of him and just stared and stared. Every time the cow would walk by Javan would stop what he was doing and say, "hi cow!" He gave him lots of high fives and told him a bunch of things we aren't sure about. Thanks Chick-fil-A for dinner and crafts!

Shooting high

I had arranged to take Peter shooting for his birthday last week but things got a little crazy with my Grandfather passing and all the traveling around we had to do. I decided it would be best if we postponed the fun until this week. I borrowed a few firearms from my Sergeant and then picked up some ammo. I arranged to go out to a friends property and shoot since they have large acreage and apparently shoot all the time. Peter didn't know anything about it as I wanted it to be a surprise. Since I started

working at the Police Department and went shooting the first time Peter has really wanted to go. We have several friends who own firearms and they always said they would have to go out but nothing was ever planned. I know how guys are so instead of just saying would do something I made plans to do something. Sgt. Ceisla let me have my pick of what I wanted to borrow and really the only gun I knew I wanted was a Glock 9mm because Peter has done a lot of reading up on them and decided he wants one even though he has never shot one. I decided to also bring along a Ruger rifle and a revolver. I really wanted to bring a Smith and Wesson

Model 60 but I couldn't find anyone who had one available. Both the rifle and the revolver shot 22 LR so the ammo was cheap and easy found. After we picked up the firearms Peter got excited and when we headed out to Mike's property he didn't know where to start. We started small with the 22s since the recoil is really light and then moved up to the Glock. Mike has a shotgun and he had some pigeons so we did a little skeet shooting which was new to me. I had never shot a shotgun before and I was surprised at how much kick it didn't give. The shotgun was a 12 gauge Browning and Mike had told me ahead of time so I picked up a few boxes of ammo for that too. I did very poorly on the skeet shooting but I demolished the targets when they weren't moving. LOL. Peter did pretty well with everything

but decided the Glock was his favorite. Next time I will have to get an M-4 for Peter to try out and maybe get a hold of one of those S&W or a comparable Taurus that I want. Thanks Sarge for the guns and thanks Mike for letting us make some holes in your property!

Super Bowl Sunday

Well, it's Super Bowl time which means it time for another Life Group Party. This year the party was over at Kelli and Woody's

house. Kelli is a huge Steelers fan so she had the whole house decked out for the game. Everyone brought their food to share, I made bacon wrapped smokies, and BLT bowls. Both new experiences for me and both messy but so tasty! Peter and I are not really into football but we were excited for our group because we have A LOT of Steelers fans among us. Valleta let me borrow a jersey so I could fit in and so Kelli would allow me to enter the house. Even Javan got to wear a jersey that Kelli had extra, too cute. We had a great time at the game but the best part, as always, is the fellowship. The Steelers started off really bad but started to get into the game around the second quarter. Unfortunately for our

friends they weren't good enough. If you ask me, the Packers deserved to win, but don't tell my friends I said that. They played really well and even had a bad call made against them but they played hard to the very end. Everyone agreed the game was good and though they were disappointed in the outcome we all had a good night, maybe next year. Go Steelers!!

Jacksonville and Gainesville

Peter and I have been quite busy traveling across Florida this week. Yesterday Peter and I went up to Jacksonville with Steve and Heather. We stayed overnight in a hotel to be close to the church for Pepere's funeral in the morning. Last night we met up with lots of family and had a nice dinner at Ted's Montana Grill. Peter and I had never been there and tried some bison burgers and we were really happy with how lean and not-greasy they were. After dinner we went back to the hotel and hung out with Steve and Heather for a while before retiring to our own room. We got up early and dressed for the funeral. We met everyone for breakfast again and then headed over to the church a little early. I really wanted to get to say hi and talk to all my aunts and uncles before the service started at 10:30 and do a little catching up.

The kids were home with my mom so Peter and I had more time to focus on family without distractions. The funeral was a standard Catholic Funeral and was nicely done and moving. I did alright until the Coast Guard brought out the American Flag and saluted it. The flag was presented to Memere, of course, after taps were played. There was a reception to follow the funeral but Peter and I had get on the road to try and make it to Rena's wedding. Rena's ceremony was at 11:00 in Gainesville a good hour and half away. We knew we missed the ceremony, which I had already told Rena we would, but we wanted to make the reception.

Peter did a good job of driving to the hall in the rain and not being familiar with the area at all. The reception started at 1:00 and we showed up about 1:10 which was pretty good. My friend let me borrow a saree (sari) for the wedding so I got changed and we went in. Rena is Indian so there were lots of Indian relatives all dressed in beautiful Indian attire. I was excited to wear a saree and had been looking forward to it all week. Rena looked beautiful and we are so happy for her and TJ. We stayed until just about everyone had left and then headed home ourselves. We got to catch up with some old friends from high school

(Rena was in Peter's grade so there were a few classmates he hadn't seen since he graduated). Tina and Noah were there too and of course, Rena's sisters, Reba and Sheba. We had a good time and we were really glad that we were able to make the reception but sad we missed the ceremony. Lots of Rena's relatives commented positively on my saree and told Peter he needed to buy me more of them. :) Congratulations Rena and TJ, we wish you much happiness and we are so excited to have another married couple to hang out with!

Happy 30th Birthday Peter

Today Peter starts a whole new decade. I wanted to do a lot for him but he didn't really want much. Since we went to Tampa earlier in the week he needed to get back to work and arranged for clients to come by and pick up some things. This morning Peter went out to breakfast with some guy friends while I took the girls to school. A group of guys meet each Thursday for breakfast but I am usually at work so Peter can't go because it is

at the same time the girls have to be up and out the door so today it was nice that Peter was able to join them. Mike (Peter's Dad) came up to Orange City and took us out to Chili's for Peter's birthday. We had a good lunch and then went back home. I picked up the girls from school and then took them to the grocery store to get some snack food for Life Group tonight. Peter said he wanted pumpkin bread but didn't want to ask me for it because he knew it would take time and it wasn't the right season. I didn't care, I was just happy he was actually saying he wanted something. Abbi helped me bake the bread and then I made some hot dip for group tonight too. Brenda baked one of her famous "Brenda cakes" for Peter's birthday, it was red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. She made a cake and several cupcakes with Oreos on the top of each.

I should have taken a picture but we ate it up too quickly. I had gotten a card and had everyone sign it and I had picked up a few $10 iTunes cards that the members of the group bought off me tonight to give to Peter with the card from us all. In the end Peter ended up with a nice amount of iTunes money and some yummy food too. I figured since it was his 30th it should be a little grander than usual. Happy Birthday Peter, you are so loved by all of us and I am very blessed to be your wife. I hope this new shiny decade brings you more joy and blessings than you have ever previously experienced!

Tampa Trip

Last week, before we found out about Pepere, Peter and I had planned a little trip to Tampa for his birthday. We had to be in Tampa on Tuesday for an appointment and my mom said she would watch the kids if we wanted to spend a couple days out there. I had already asked for Monday and Tuesday off this week so we could go and then when Pepere died my Sergeant canceled my personal time and gave me the whole week as bereavement time. I wasn't sure if we were still going to go out but I had booked a hotel on hotwire for Sunday night and our friends were expecting us on Monday. When my Dad told me Pepere's ceremony wouldn't be until next Saturday we decided we would still head out and not lose the money we had already paid for the hotel. After church on Sunday I started a new Crown class that got out at 6 and then after getting home and packing and waiting for my mom to show, Peter and I headed out the door for our 2 hour drive. We got to our hotel which we got an amazing price on and just stayed in and relaxed quietly. We didn't really have any plans so we slept in late on Monday and then eventually checked out and went to lunch. We pretty much just wandered the local malls during the day and then met up with

our friends, Vandita and Anupam. We were staying at their house Monday night and they took us out to Outback for a nice birthday dinner for Peter. We stayed up and talked for a while before going to sleep and then in the morning we had breakfast at the house. After a while Peter and I headed out so that Anupam could get to work (Vandita had already left). Again, we didn't have anything planned but Peter wanted to check out some pawn shops. I guess he often thinks about stopping at them but always has the kids so he doesn't get the chance. He wasn't looking for anything in particular just wanted to see what they had to offer. Around lunch time we met up with Reba at Panera and got to hang out a bit while she was on her lunch break. It was time for our appointment after that so we headed over to the office and then headed home after we were through a couple hours later. We were going home right about rush hour time so we hit some congestion but it wasn't too bad and didn't last too long. We were happy to get home to our babies and Goose. Thanks mom for watching the kids so we could get out for a bit! It was nice not to have to drive to and from Tampa in one day after getting off of work.

Sunday, February 27

Out and Around

Monday, February 21

Family Day at Sanford FD/PD

Sunday, February 20

Enjoying the Air

Saturday, February 19

Birthday Celebration

A Morning Out

Monday, February 14

Tyler and Garret's Birthdays

Happy Valentine's Day

Saturday, February 12

Preparing

Friday, February 11

Cow Fun

Shooting high

Sunday, February 6

Super Bowl Sunday

Saturday, February 5

Jacksonville and Gainesville

Thursday, February 3

Happy 30th Birthday Peter

Wednesday, February 2

Tampa Trip

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