The Taylor Family: May 2013

Happy Memorial Day

Steve and Heather and Tyler left early this morning. They took off before I was up but Peter got up to turn off the alarm and wish them well on their way. Our children were sad that cousin Tyler had to go but when we told them about another BBQ we were invited to they cheered up a bit. A couple from our church invited us to their

house for some good food and swimming fun. The kids gathered their things and we stopped at the store to pick up some food to share and then arrived at our friends, Pat and Bill’s. There were several people from church and lots of kids which made our children happy. They all swam and swam, then ate, then swam some more. Peter and I didn’t go swimming but we sat on the porch and had some good conversations until it was time to get going. Peter needed to get some work done as he had taken the whole weekend off and the kids had to get some sleep because they have school tomorrow.

BBQ at Grandma's

This morning Steve said he was going to go back out and search for the chopper again so Peter and Heather decided to go along to help some more. I stayed home with the kids and we made some yummy cookies for a BBQ that we are having at my mom’s house this afternoon. After a couple more hours Steve, Peter and Heather came home empty handed. They said that if they didn’t step right on top of where the chopper landed they weren’t going to find it because the brush was so thick. We were all

sad about this as it was a very expensive toy and not one you want to leave behind. When it came time we headed over to mom’s house and later Brian and Rachel joined us too. Steve grilled hot dogs and burgers and we had all brought some sides and desserts so we had a nice full meal. My mom had set up the kid’s pool so they played happily while the rest of us sat in the shade and ate dinner and talked. The weather was nice so long as you were in the shade. There was a nice breeze and a few woodpeckers that kept flying overhead. Eventually we rounded up all the children and cleaned up the messes. We all headed

back to our house and the kids went to bed. The four of us stayed up and talked and watched a couple stupid shows on Netflix before deciding it was time to go to bed. Steve and Heather have to drive back in the morning so they are leaving pretty early. We had a great time while they were here but we are all pretty disappointed about the quadcopter.

Weekend Guests

Earlier this week my brother Steve sent me a message asking what we were doing this weekend. He said that he had a couple days off so they were considering taking a little trip down to see us. Of course, I told him we would love that and that he and the family could stay at our house. Yesterday afternoon Steve, Heather, and Tyler arrived at our house. I was still at work but not for much longer. When I got home we just hung out and talked and then ordered some pizza for dinner. The kids played happily and then we set up all the sleeping arrangements. Today we were outside and the kids were playing on their scooters while Peter and Steve played with a quadcopter that Steve had brought down. They walked over to the schools and were flying it around when it decided it was going to land in the trees. It was several hundred feet away so Steve and Peter took off to find it. They searched for a couple hours with no luck and then came home. Peter and I had a wedding to go to so we had to get ready but Steve went back out and searched some more. When we got home after the wedding Steve still hadn’t found it. The boys will probably go back out again. I said we should all go but they said the brush was so thick you couldn’t see 5 feet in front of you and there was no way the kids would be able to bushwhack. 

Peter bought some new Chellee Guitar

shirts for his business but this time he bought all the kids some too. They were very excited about it and we all decided to wear our shirts on the same day. I am actually wearing one of Peter's because the ones he bought for me aren't maternity shirts and don't presently fit. Since we all had our shirts on we decided to take a quick impromptu photo. We took a couple but this one turned out best and was the first one that we shot.

Scooters

At our last house we lived on a dirt road so the kids couldn’t really ride bikes or even play our front much because we had a few ATVs that would come speeding by to hit all the bumps in the dirt. The kids played out back often because it was fenced in. As a result they never had scooters or bicycles. Now that we live on a nice big cul-de-sac with sidewalks and only one other house there is lots of playing space for these outside toys. The kids across the street are the same age as our girls and they are

all in the same grades so they all play together very well. Those two girls both have scooters and they share with our kids but only one child can ride at a time so there are always at least three children running behind. I started looking on Craigslist and asking around to see if anyone had a good deal on a scooter for the girls and I found one for Javan for a good price. I picked it up and it was brand new so I was very excited about my good find. A lady from church has twin boys a little older than our girls and she asked them if they would be willing to give up their scooters to our girls. Apparently they didn’t really use them anymore so they were happy to bless our children. Peter picked up the scooters and when the weather cleared up we took the girls outside to show them. They were super excited and after riding them around for a bit they came inside and made thank you cards for the boys. We still need to figure out getting the girls some bicycles but at least now they can get around without having to run after the kids on scooters.

Fencing

When we moved into our new house the first thing we knew we would need was a fence. We get the drop off and pick up school traffic and then nothing the rest of the time but during those couple of hours we feel very exposed. We got security and window tint for all the glass in the house so when

people walk/drive by they can’t actually see inside but they still look (maybe at their own reflection) and it always feels weird. I had a couple fence companies come out to give us quotes for what we wanted, both for the wood panel fences and also for the white vinyl fences. We really wanted the white fence but we knew the price was going to be high. We had Dave’s Fence come out and put up our fence at the last house and we got the wood panel kind. It looked great and they did an

excellent job but even after just a year it started to look worn. Because the white fence came with a lifetime warranty on the materials we decided the increased price would be worth it at the new house. We booked Dave’s Fence again and then had to wait a few weeks for their work load and permits. They came out Friday and were supposed to be done in the same day but had some holds ups that made them get to our property later than expected

so they only finished the back line. They came back Saturday (after more holdups elsewhere) and did one side but said they would have to finish the job on Monday. When I got home from work today I was very happy to see the job was completed and it looked great. We chose to have some portions higher off the ground

to add to the privacy in the backyard, we are going to get something to fill the gaps between the ground and the bottom of the fence and we are also going to plant some bamboo or Bougainvillea plants on the outside.

Happy Mother's Day!

Peter had to play on the Worship Team at church today so I let the girls go to both services (they always want to) and after the first service I took Javan with me to Lowe’s and then home. When Peter came home after the second service we took a quick trip to Firehouse Subs for lunch and then went back home. Our plumber was stopping by to do some quick work so we ate at home and I opened my presents.

The kids got me some cool tools for the kitchen and Peter bought me a new Dyson Digital Slim Vacuum that will be perfect for all the tile floors we have in the new house. I had wanted one since we moved but they are pretty expensive so I never officially asked for one. I am very excited about it! I have an upright Dyson that I got years ago from my Dad and Judy and I still love that thing, I also have a hand held Dyson that Peter bought me on another Mother’s Day a few years ago that works great but you can’t use it for a really large surface like I need this new one for. I know, I’m a bit weird, being super excited about receiving vacuums for presents but I am very practical person. Around 2:30 I told the kids

to all go get swimsuits on and Peter and I started packing up a few minor things for the beach. We like to go in the late afternoon when the sun isn’t so hot and the beaches are clearing out of all the crowds. Just after 3 we left for New Smyrna (our favorite beach) and got there just before 4. Our friends Bill and Brenda were staying at a condo on the beach so we went to their complex and used the beachfront by them. The kids played and swam and ran around a lot. Peter and I just sat around and watched them and then Brenda met us and we talked for a while.

After an hour or so we moved the kids to the condo pool where they played and swam some more. Javan liked the little pool and it was nice to not have to be paranoid about him drowning or slipping off the big pools steps. Lastly all the kids went to the “cooler” hot tub and sat in there for 15 minutes until we told them to get out. We went up to the condo and ate

dinner with Brenda and Bill and then packed up all the kids and headed back home. Overall it was a nice and relaxing day. The kids got to have a lot of fun and get worn out a bit and I got to enjoy some peace and beautiful weather outdoors.

Odds and Ends

I ended up needing a few more of all the items that I purchased yesterday for the yard so after church today I went back to Lowe's to pick them up so everything would be nice and complete. Everything I bought was heavy but it was alright because I had my big helper with me who insteaded on pulling the cart for me.

Abbi's Project

Abbi had a school project that is due on Monday.

She had a packet of paperwork to do for it and then also had to build a diorama for it. She chose to do her project on the plant and animal life that lived under the sea. She asked me all week to bring home a box for her project and then once I did she asked if we could go to Michael’s to get the things she needed to complete it all. Abbi definitely is like me with her work ethic, she doesn’t put anything off until

the last minute and she wants to make sure she has enough time to get the job done just right instead of rushing in the last moments. She kept asking me to help her but with the busy week we had I didn’t have time until Saturday. She had already done all the packet work she had to do so she only had to do the diorama now. I helped her with some ideas and then some of the technical things like cutting and gluing sand to the foam but mostly she did everything. I helped her find ways to make

things stick and hang and I helped her make a couple of the sea animals out of pipe cleaners. Once everything was in place Abbi made labels and put them in the right places. The final product was very well done, I think. She is excited to take it to school with her on Monday.

Lowe's Build and Grow Workshop

Another Workshop was held for the kids today. I signed them up a couple weeks ago so this morning I took them to Lowe's so they could get their carpentry skills going. I had other things I wanted to grab while we were there so it worked out well for everyone. The children had a good time building little heart frames that opened to show off a picture (that they would have to add later).

Once they were through we went to the garden center and I picked up a few things for our yard. I needed some red garden bed borders for around our mailbox where I had planted some pretty flowers so the grass would stay out and so that the neighbor kid that mows the lawn wouldn't step on the flowers again. I picked up some red lava rocks for the garden bed by the front door and then picked up some red foot-pavers so I could make a walkway from the driveway to Peter's shop enterance. Our front door is a dark red color so I thought all the red accents would help bring out some color and highlight the house some.

A Little Bike for a Big Boy

My mom and sister recently went up to Virginia to see my oldest brother and his family. While they were up there Steve loaded up my nephew, Tyler’s, old bike so that mom could bring it down for Javan. Before this Javan had mastered the tricycle but because we had always lived on a dirt road with no sidewalks we didn’t invest in a proper bike for him. Now that we have a huge paved cul-de-sac and sidewalks the kids are excited to get some rollerblades, scooters, and bikes. Of course, right now, our budget doesn’t have room for such things but the neighbors across the street have two little girls with all the fun stuff and our kids have been privileged to share them too. One of the things the neighbors have is a really cute pink bike with training wheels that Javan just loved to ride around on. He wasn’t all that great on it but he is persistent and kept making the rounds. Peter and I knew he was enjoying it so we never deterred him from taking a ride but we did make a mental note that he needed a boys bike. When mom came home from VA we didn’t see her for a couple weeks but she told Javan she had a surprise for him. He had no clue what it was but was excited all the same. Peter and I took the kids over one night and Javan got to see

his super cool big boy bike just for him. He couldn’t wait to get it out and ride it but then it started raining all week. He would ask everyday if he could ride but we had to make him wait until there were some sunny skies outside. Finally today, the air was cool and there was a nice breeze so the kids ran outside and Daddy got the bike out of the garage. Steve and Heather had also sent down Tyler’s old helmet but it was too small for Javan’s head so we had made sure to replace it with a larger one before the rains had subsided. Javan went nuts over the bike and even though he fell off and got banged up (next on the list are elbow and knee pads) he would get back on after a quick clean and Band-Aid and ride some more. Thank you Uncle Steve and Aunt Heather and of course Cousin Tyler!! You have made a little boy extremely happy!

Bresa's a chef

Bresa likes to collect the free recipes from Publix that they have in the bakery and by the produce. She is often asking me to write down the recipes of the meals I make regularly so she can have them for her "recipe folder" also. Sometimes she will ask if she can help me with dinner and when it is feasible I will have her get me out some ingredients, stir something up, or even chop up a veggie or two but mostly I do all the work. Recently, though, she has been asking more and more about cooking so I told her that if she really wanted to she could make up a menu for this coming Friday and prepare the meal. I told her she would have to choose wisely and taken into account what we had in order to prepare a meal (we are currently without a BBQ grill so anything that required grilling was out of the question). After she choose a soup and main course and also a

dessert I made her write out the ingredients of each recipe. Then I went through and told her what we already had in the pantry and what we would need to buy at the grocery store. After school today I took her grocery shopping and made her tell me what we needed from her list. I made sure she had written out the quantities and weights of each item and showed her why it was important to know before you got to the store. Once we got home and all the groceries were put away Bresa started her meal. I had to supervise so that she was sure to know how to work everything (Stand Mixer, Stove, knives, etc.). I prompted Bresa to read ahead to see what step was next and encouraged her to start the next step while she was waiting for the last step to be completed. She had a couple melt downs when things didn't work exactly as she would have liked but she pulled through and finished the job. The recipes said they should take about 20 minutes but being that this was Bresa's first time and things like chopping and stirring are fairly new to her it took closer to 2 hours. In the end though we all had a wonderful dinner of Country Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy, Broccoli and Swiss cheese soup, and for dessert a delicious Peach Parfait.

Family Table

My parents bought this table 2 years before I was born. It is the table that I used for every meal growing up. We had countless family dinners here and made a million memories. Lots of homework assignments and projects. Tons of games, puzzles, and conversations were had at this table. When my mom moved to her current house she bought a new table and put this one aside. Our last house was way too small to accommodate it and I thought it would probably go to another family member before we could ever use it. When Peter and I moved to our new home we had lots more space and our tiny kitchen table we had used up to this point looked really small in our big eating area. Mom said she still had the large maple top table and I jumped at the chance to have it. Even Peter remembered it from the days that we were dating. My mom brought the table

top over but couldn’t find the legs to it. She swore she didn’t throw them out but couldn’t find them in either of her attics. Peter and I had a couple errands to run in her direction so we stopped by the house and Peter searched both attics. He found them in the second and we all were happy to see them. We took them home and it took a few days but Peter put the table together and I cleaned it off. I am really excited to now be sharing this table with our family so we can make new memories at our family dinners.

Monday, May 27

Happy Memorial Day

Sunday, May 26

BBQ at Grandma's

Saturday, May 25

Weekend Guests

Sunday, May 19

Friday, May 17

Scooters

Monday, May 13

Fencing

Sunday, May 12

Happy Mother's Day!

Odds and Ends

Saturday, May 11

Abbi's Project

Lowe's Build and Grow Workshop

Saturday, May 4

A Little Bike for a Big Boy

Friday, May 3

Bresa's a chef

Wednesday, May 1

Family Table

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