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!!!

First Night

On Friday we finally got the keys to our new place. We were all so excited that we decided we should have a movie night there and have a sleep over in our new rooms. This was also going to be a great chance to test out the sleeping bags before our big camping trips this summer.

Well, the movie was great but the sleeping bags didn't work out so well ...

Grandpa Carlos' Teeth Turn Ugly, I mean 77

Grandpa Karl (aka "Carlos", thanks to Whit) celebrated number 77 on July 10, and we got together at my parents' house for dinner on the 13th.

Jenny gave Grandpa some bling grillz (I would have had no idea what these were otherwise), and he modeled them for the camera. Way to go Grampy! Hey, 77 don't look to bad. Bring it on!

We love Grampy. He's just great. Always good to rub your back. He'll let you know when you, or anyone else for that matter, is out of line. He pretends he hates Barkley, but then feeds him under the table. And he still plays a mean game on the golf course. He was diagnosed with the 'betes a few years ago, but doesn't let it get him. He revamped his whole diet, lost all of his excess weight, and then some, and now he's this cute little Ute fan, still gardening and working at the temple.

Nobody beats him!

Two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world! I love them so much! And how cute are they with their "Child of God" stickers? Everyone's a primary child to Mom!

Freedom for All

For some reason this year found me more emotional than years past. For instance, on Sunday when we stood and sang the Star Spangled Banner in Sacrament meeting, both Brian and I were sobbing, and I had to say the closing prayer right after. (I should have chosen to say the opening instead.) And just days before I had listened to some dialogue my dad emailed me that has been floating around the Internet about Francis Scott Key writing what became the national anthem - really cool story and narrative.

So then came the actual day we celebrate our Independence. Brian found the documentary series The Revolution playing on The History Channel, so we watched a few episodes and recorded the rest for later. Fascinating stuff.

I guess I'm turning into my parents, because just as my parents did (especially my dad) I've begun to quiz Whitney, and so we asked her what she knows about the history of America, and why specifically we celebrate the fourth of July. Of course, we had to kind of steer her in the right direction, and there was a bit of comic relief when after we defined independence she exclaimed "That's what I want!"

I don't think any of us can express perfectly in word what living in this blessed land means, but I do think it's important that we try. I think it's important we thank the service men who are in active duty and those retired; I think it's important we thank the families of those service men who have died, especially those who've gone while defending our freedoms. I think it's important we appreciate all we have here in America - not just the freedom of speech, not just the freedom of religion (note that I said "of" not "from"), not just the ability for the American Dream and all its material conveniences we enjoy, but all the freedoms we have, and all that we don't even realize we have because we live here. I know we are blessed beyond awareness, and I thank God and those who have served us all that we have this blessed nation.

So we celebrate! And this year was no exception. It didn't bother me to be so busy; it's such a neat day - one of my favorite holidays - and I like to fit in all the fun we can.

We had a lot of stuff to take with us, and we also wanted to drive cheaply, so we loaded up the Civic as best we could. It worked.

It's hard to tell, but the trunk is only about a foot deep!

While I wouldn't want to go long distances riding this way, it was fine to Orem. My legs didn't even fall asleep!

First it was down to Orem with Bri's family. We had a fun barbecue and a good visit with lots of the Billingsley clan - Dad & Joan, Steve's family, Christian & Emily & Emily's friend, and most of Joan's family. Good food. Good times.

Grandma Joan with a grandson (James) and a great-grandson

Taylor and Whitney enjoying Grandpa Marlow's homemade ice cream on a cone. Mmm messy!

Then we came up to my parents' for more food, water fun, food, and fireworks. The kids had a little pool to swim in, and thanks to JenEric, a slip n' slide! I don't know who had more fun, though, Aaron or the little ones!

So Tay didn't really get the slide part, but he eventually sat in the puddle at the end!

And my dad thought he was funny pretending to toss James onto the slip n' slide. And he was. But just a little.

Aaron and the kids - he's so funny and they're so cute!

After a while my dad had a brilliant idea to start a water fight. I wouldn't have said so at the time, but I really did think it was a good idea of his - what else is summer for? So, in the end, after avoiding most of it by taking my baby inside for protection, I got drenched. Yep, I went back outside and Eric poured a bucket of water down my back. Hey, at least it was warm water. Thanks, Eric.

Later in the evening Brad took Whitney and Taylor to the Bees game for baseball and fireworks. We hung out for awhile and then went to the elementary school to watch the West Jordan fireworks. In the past they have started around 10 p.m., so we walked over there about 9:45. About an hour later, after moving from our spot about three times to avoid being sprayed by the sprinklers, and NO fireworks, we decided to go back to my parents'. We could still hear the rodeo, and figured it'd be awhile yet, and we were all getting tired.

As it would go, as soon as we got back to my parents', we heard the fireworks. Oh well. Some of us went to the other side of the street to watch; others of us were annoyed at West Jordan City and refused to participate. So we watched Rob light some fireworks for the grandkids, and then went to pick up Whitney and Taylor from Brad's parents' house in Midvale.

It was late by the time we got home and to bed, but isn't that what it's about? Family, food, and late nights. Yep, that's what our forefathers wanted for us! God bless America.

Dinner Guests

So we haven't written about all of our dinner guests, but got some cute pictures today, so I wanted to include them.

Since we didn't see Bri's dad on Father's Day, we invited him and Joan for dinner and good times today. And dinner and good times we had. My favorites:

Marlow, Brian, James

Grandma Joan playing Barbies with Whitney and Taylor - aren't Grandmas great?!

It Was A Zoo!

Well, we made it to the zoo today. It was fun. Not too hot, and not too crowded, and just the right amount of time to spend before Bri had to head to work tonight. Gandolfo's and the zoo - it just sounds good.

Whitney is getting so big. I don't mean physically, because she's very skinny. I mean old, she's getting older. Old enough that we can send her with the money to buy the tickets for the carousel. This is so cute:

(Of course, it only saved me from standing in line, because I still had to get up to get the cute picture.) Speaking of the carousel, here's my adorable family (minus James and me) enjoying this new attraction. It's nothing special; everyone's been on a carousel, but it's new to the zoo, so I guess that makes it exciting.

So how funny is my husband? Just a big kid. But I hear that's normal.

Then we went to the bird show. A nice lady volunteered to take our family's picture before the show. That was thoughtful of her.

We didn't know what excitement awaited us, but Whitney was chosen from the crowd to stand in front and let a dove eat out of her hand during the show:

Then we saw more animals on our way to the train.

James is excited for the train!

And when we got home all three were tuckered out! Too much fun for one afternoon, I guess.

Red Butte Garden

So, last year we bought a membership to Hogle Zoo. This was a first. This week we were invited to a "members only night" - one of three nights where they open the zoo after hours to members only.

Problem #1: Tonight was the only night of the three that we had good weather. Problem #2: I think EVERYONE that goes to the zoo, or has ever heard of the zoo, is a member of the zoo. Problem #3: We did not know about problem #2 until we pulled onto Sunnyside Ave, and saw the cars lining both sides of the street, then the full parking lot, then the full overflow parking lot.

If you don't know, we don't like crowds. We're social, very much so in fact. But we don't like being shoulder-to-shoulder, especially with strangers, or standing in lines, or the smells that accompany giant heaps of giant people. So, when we saw what we saw, we knew it did not spell fun, but when you've driven the distance, you've gotta come up with an alternate plan quickly. And we're so glad we did! In fact, I think we decided we were glad that the zoo was too crowded, because it was such a gorgeous evening and we had such a delightful time wandering Red Butte Garden.

Have you ever been? I have, for a beautiful wedding, a child's fun birthday party, and maybe again to roam just for pleasure. Brian had only been there for concerts, so I was happy that we could wander with the kids around the gardens. I'm not kidding when I say this place is wonderful! The gardens are spectacular for the senses! We let the kids play in the sand box for a bit while we enjoyed incredible views of the city and valley. We walked fragrant paths and had such a peaceful, quiet time. We found out the names of some of our favorite trees, which we want to plant when we move into a home, and we watched the ducks in the pond. When the sun began to set, it cooled off rather quickly, and Whitney cooled off a little more when she fell at the little splash pad near the children's garden, so it was time to go home. On our way out we heard and danced to some great music coming from an outdoor wedding reception there, and then the kids played on the elevators until we caught both of them on the same floor. Good times.

I think we'll get to the zoo before our membership expires (on a less-crowded day), but I also think we'll purposefully not go to the zoo again sometime soon. ;)

Funny side note: So, the entire time we were there we thought we had forgotten the camera, and then when we were packing up the stroller Brian found it in one of the compartments! So, no pictures of this outing, except for in our hearts and your imaginations!

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Tonight we went to the Bees game! It was much fun - and not just because we ate hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, and snow cones. It was a good game too- they beat Tacoma Rainiers and didn't even have to play the bottom of the ninth!

We thought this would be fun for the kids, and easy on us, so we took the train to Franklin Covey Field. It was Tay's first time on the train, and he really liked it! (If you haven't done this, you should. Very convenient, 'cause it drops you off right near the park, and if you have kids, you're awesome for scoring them a ride on the train!)

Of course the kids would rather watch the mascot than the game, but it was a family night at the ball park, and so it didn't matter. Even James enjoyed himself, sometimes tucked inside Daddy's jacket!

Awe, isn't that cute?

Also, par for the course, we didn't take the camera, so we took some poor-quality pictures with Bri's phone.

The ball park is no louder than a normal day at our house, I swear!

Not a great picture, but the only one I took of Whit with Mr. Bee. (I have no idea what his name is.) He autographed her arm - she thought it was so cool!

Memorial Weekend

We sure enjoyed the holiday weekend this year. We started out in St. George with Bri's mom on Friday. It was a good visit, especially since we hadn't seen her since James was just a couple weeks old. Brian got a few things done around the house (such a good son), and on Sunday we were able to attend Sacrament meeting in an assisted living home, because Mom was invited to play the accompaniment music for them that day. That was definitely interesting! Brian and I said the opening and closing prayers, and they had speakers from the area (good talks).

Then after lunch, we headed north to Salina, where my grandpa (dad's dad) and Faye live six months out of the year. There are always good times in Salina! We were able to meet up with my parents and JenEric. We also got to see my dad's sister, Brenda, and some of her kids, so that was nice, especially since we don't see them often.

(Whit and Tay slept well at the Best Western.)

Monday began with a breakfast put on by the Lion's Club. We ate lots of good pancakes and eggs, and then got on our way to Wayne County for the visiting of the cemeteries.

My grandma (dad's mom) is buried in Bicknell. It's a beautiful place, as far as cemeteries go, so I enjoy visiting there. We also drove around Loa and Fremont, and I was able to show Brian where Grandpa lived as a little boy, and my dad recalled memories of his childhood, visiting his grandfather in those towns. Vardell is always good for a trip down memory lane - and I usually appreciate and hang on every word.

Whitney and Grandpa Taylor in front of his headstone

Steph, Mom, Dad, Jen

Grandpa, James, Dad, Steph

We went back to Salina and had lunch before heading home.

Thank goodness for portable DVD players! What did our parents do?

Mom, Faye, Aunt Brenda

I was glad to spend the weekend with family and begin the summer with a tradition.