Taylor Family Camp 2k8

This weekend we had our first family campout. Steph and I have been talking about going camping since we first met but didn't actually make it into the wilderness until just now. It was great fun. We had the whole Vardell/Brenda clan together for hiking, fishing, 4-wheeling, shooting, and an all around good time. Below is a slew of pictures to show how much fun it was. Enjoy!!!

Yea for Steph and Jenny! They got the kitchen tent up. Woohoo!!!

On moving day our neighbors gave us this carrier. James likes it A LOT!

Aunt Teresa shows James how cool the hot fire is.

Taylor and Landon had a great time playing together.

James spent a lot of his time in his bouncer. He loved it and we loved not worrying about what he was sticking in his mouth.

A look this devilish makes you wonder what they've been up to.

Taking the girls on the 4 wheeler. They pointed out every butterfly we passed.

The boys on the other hand didn't stop shouting their excitement during the whole ride.

We spent one afternoon fishing on Strawberry. Here Whit is going for the "Cutest Fishergirl" award.

The storm in the back ground would eventually overtake us and make for a very cold and wet ride back to the docks.

Taylor was the lucky one bringing in the only fish we caught that day.

Cleanliness was an issue up at the camp. The kids just LOVED playing in the dirt.

Grandpa gives some important pointers to Whit - like which direction to point the gun!

Taylor loves shooting with any toy he picks up. The real thing was a bit louder than he expected.

Tay wasn't the only dirty one.

"Oh the rains came down ..." and interrupted a great baseball game.

Teaching James the finer points of cooking a hot dog over the fire.

Once we got home it was straight to the bath for all of them. They were tired but had a great weekend.

I'm now realizing that we didn't get any pictures with Evan but he was there. Thanks to everyone for a fun weekend. We can't wait until next year!!!

Weekend Visitors

We had a great Easter weekend with visits from lots of family members, most of whom were excited to meet James for the first time.

Aunt Julie and Uncle David flew in for the festivities.

Since Julie was going to be in town Granny Charlene decided to fly up too.

Then it was off to Steph's parents for the traditional egg hunt and what not. My camera battery died before the kids started their hunt, but we got some pictures in before that happened.

Aunt Teresa was very happy to say hello to our new one.

Much more so than Cousin Lily.

The adult egg hunt was a great opportunity for picture taking.

My lovely wife spotted this egg with ease. No fooling her.

Then inside we went where we helped the little ones dye some eggs. Steph did all the work but the kids made all of the decisions.

The Easter Bunny also came to our house that night and left wonderful baskets of goodies (did you know they now make a small Cadbury Creme Egg, it's the perfect proportion) and these cute clothes for our cute kids. Yes, this is the best of all 43 pictures I took of the two of them.

Taylor can be a stinker at times so it's a good thing he's so cute!

Santa Found Us!

Christmas morning came and even though you may find it surprising, it really wasn't to us, that the kids DID NOT want to get out of bed. In fact, when we initially woke Whitney, she decided she'd rather go back to sleep for awhile. Finally, we coaxed both from their visions of sugar plums to see what Santa brought.



As you can see from the pics, Christmas brought with it this year (as with every other) too much stuff. The kids knew all along that they were getting their new beds and dressers for Christmas, but of course, we didn't hold back on 'other stuff', and, well, let's just say they received enough, so that even though they weren't quite sleeping in their new beds yet, it didn't really matter.

Brian surprised me too! I really wanted this stinkin' cute pair of shoes that I had seen at Heels N' Toes. He was well aware of this, and I knew that it would be difficult for him to go into the store and select the pair that I had described (even though I'm positive the romantic in him would've done whatever it took to get the right pair). So I did him the favor of just buying them and bringing them home for him to wrap. Oh, he wrapped them alright! He wrapped my Seinfeld Season 9 in the actual shoebox, and had me open that one first. I kinda figured something was up, but didn't expect to find one shoe in several layers of wrapping paper rolled around it, and the other in a wooden box he had made and screwed shut! It was wrapped and hidden on top of the kitchen cabinets (where of course I can't see)! The whole idea was very fun and cute, and Brian and the kids loved the excitement of me finally getting to my shoes!

Brian and I were spoiled with the gifts we received too: digital camera, clothes, music (soundtracks from Dan in Real Life and Enchanted), entertainment (Seinfeld 9 and Spelling Bee tickets), relaxing goodies, and good-smelling stuff. I'm sure there's stuff I forgot to list, and that's why I keep telling myself every year that "this is the year we scale down", and it hasn't worked thus far, but I'm not giving up on the idea.

Once we were done destroying our own living room, it was off to my parents to do the same to theirs! More traditions with the Christmas brunch! Aaron, Teresa, and kids came from Logan, so everyone was able to be there. My mom made yummy omelets, and all the fixins. You may have read from other family blogs too that the bacon caught fire -not once, but twice! Oh, my favorite quote of the day, uncle Jeff, "Brenda is there supposed to be a fire in the oven?"

The kids played with their new toys, and their cousins, and their cousins' toys. Then later in the day, it was off with Daddy Brad for more Christmas fun at the Olson's (a.k.a more stuff)!

Christmas night was low-key, as usual. We went to pick up the kids, visited with the Olson's for a few, came home, and retired our tired little heads. And the countdown begins again... 365 days 'til Christmas 2008!

Christmas Eve 2007 with the Taylor's (McFarlane's, Jones')

Traditions are so much of what makes Christmas feel like Christmas, and so it was as with each year, we gathered for Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma Barb's. This year was such a treat because Rob, Mandy, Evan, and Lily arrived from Minnesota on Christmas Eve, and my uncle Jeff and his family were there from Arizona. Eric and Jenny were also able to travel safely through the snow, and we only missed Aaron, Teresa, Corinne, and Landon.

We ate a very delicious dinner until we were sick, and then as tradition would have it, ate some more. Afterward, we gathered and Whitney read The Tale of the Three Trees. Then, when the kids could wait no longer, we opened a few presents, and enjoyed one another's company. The only lame part of the evening is that we didn't play any games. That tradition was broken, probably because it seemed to get late quickly, and we didn't want to miss Santa, so we had to hurry home.

When we arrived home after 10 p.m. with two tired kids, we hurried to open our traditional Christmas Eve jammies. (Whitney insisted for weeks that she knew what she was getting for her Christmas Eve present, and even though she was right, I tried to keep her innocent, and fool her. To no avail... she's getting older, and we have to cherish her naivete from the past...)

After the kids were asleep, Brian and I sat down to enjoy a quiet house and some hot cocoa (it was the new yummy peppermint we bought at Cracker Barrel). I sipped just a bit from my very full cup, and then the clutz in me knocked it over, ALL OVER. And I spent the next hour (at least) cleaning up the mess. It's amazing how liquid spills find their way to so many places, especially after 1 a.m. We finally did go to bed that night (or morning, isn't that how Christmas Eve goes anyway?).

A Billingsley Christmas 2007

After picking up Whitney from her half day at school, we headed to St. George on Thursday, Dec 20 to spend some Christmas time with Grandma Charlene, and Brian's sisters' families, who drove in from San Francisco. We were there with David and Julie, Ken and Nichole, and their four kiddos: Jensen, Zad, Sage, and Baby Declan.

Almost every time we are in St. George at Mom's, we also schedule time with Grandpa Taylor and Faye. It's great to be able to visit with them, and I enjoy having them see their great-grandkids as often as we're able. We spent Friday evening with them, going to dinner at Cracker Barrel, and then playing Sequence, in my family a.k.a. "Kibosh", where I believe the girls beat the boys (Faye and I were quite the team!). And we called it a night when the kids showed signs of "need to go to bed or else things will be destroyed" tiredness.

We were at Mom's for a couple days before everyone else arrived, and we were so excited when the Katschke's got there, especially so the kids could play with their cousins. But Sage was less than excited, and it was hilarious to watch her bully Tay (who is about five months older than she!). Tay was so sweet and tried to give her hugs, and Sage just gave him the "straight arm" and told him where he could take that hug! Nichole said Sage had spent the last few months learning to brave her older siblings, esp Zaddock... older brothers - that explains it!

Whitney and Jensen had fun playing together, though. It's fun to see them catch up wherever they left off (since they don't see one another often).

When the Krauss' arrived, we spent lots of hours talking and catching up. Over the weekend we ate lots of yumminess (of course, what else would you expect?) and talking, talking, talking, since we knew we wouldn't see everyone for a while once we left. Mom did talk Brian into two things, both involved singing in church on Sunday: he sang with the ward choir in their Christmas program, and he sang a beautiful solo, Michael McLean's I Was Not His Father, He Was Mine in Relief Society for the Christmas lesson. So that he wouldn't be the only man in Relief Society, Ken and David came to listen and support. Brian did a wonderful job.

We spent Sunday evening, after a wonderful Christmas meal, opening presents and letting the kids play with their new treasures. We weren't planning on leaving as late as we did, but justified it with the good time we were having.

We didn't leave until almost 10 p.m. but Brian and I were well-prepared with another great book on CD. (BTW, did you know that you can rent these from one Cracker Barrel, and return to another for $3.49 per week? Very cool.) On the way down it was the new (2006 version), still traditional Forgotten Carols. For the drive home, we chose Mitch Albom's For One More Day. Side note: We'd heard Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie on a drive last summer - this guy can really tell a story. The bright sides of leaving as late as we did were that the kids traveled so well (slept the whole drive), and the road seemed to be all ours. We arrived home safely after 1 a.m., thanks to 'tender mercies' 1) good weather, and 2) awake and alert Brian.