PRESIDENT GORDON B. HINCKLEY

"To you women of today who are old or young, may I suggest to you that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many-now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings"

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Happy Birthday to.....me.


I had a wonderful birthday! Thats an understatement. I cry when I think about it. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Lunches were the best! My favorite moment was going to Smart Cookie. While I was paying for our treats, the kids put a candle in my cookie and Kyle lit the candle with a lighter he hid in his pocket, and then they sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

One of my favorite gifts...a ski jacket



Conner Lacross Spring 2011

Lilly's First Performance for Spring 2011




Monday, April 11, 2011

HaPpY BiRthDaY LilLy!











Lilly turned 7 on April 7, 2011. Her day was filled with surprises and lots of fun. The highlight was lunch with daddy. Kyle ate lunch with her at school and he said he will cherish that day forever! When Kyle got to the school he waited out in the hall as to not make a disturbance. He heard Mrs. Walker inside the class telling all the students to line up for lunch. Then Mrs. Walker peeked her head out the door and looked at Kyle, didn't say a word, then walked back inside. Afterwards, Kyle overheard Mrs. Walker gently say, " Yes, Lilly, he is here." Man,was she excited for daddy but she was nervous that he may have forgotten their plans.

Lilly's party theme was a FUN-SHINE PARTY..."Planting the seeds of fun!" The girls did crafts, painted pots, planted a flower, baked cupcakes in silicone flower pots and frosted them with yummy dirt and worms.


Sunday, April 10, 2011

Max Moments: Thanksgiving Point-Farm Country

A few funny moments while at the farm:

  • Max sees a Clydesdale horse and says, "He's GINORMOUS!"

  • Max is watching the goats and says in a serious voice, "They speak Spanish."

Oh Max! What will you do or say next? Oh, let me tell you what he did this morning. Sunday morning while the whole family was still in bed asleep, Max awoke and decided he will make his own breakfast. He got out the pancake mix, bowl and spoon. He poured water in it and made a batch of pancake batter. To my surprise he did a pretty good job. I used the batter and served them up! Lilly said they were really good (she's a pancake snob)

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Happy St. Patty's Day!


Lilly decorated Papa Joe (dad) with streamers from school. She thought she was so funny!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Cruise

Finally, after one year of waiting for this cruise to come, it came! It was fun. My favorite part was the zip line, I loved it-even the mules! The Hilton was AWESOME too. Thanks Matt for hookin' us up! We created some special memories and friendships

This is Old Man Pervert. He loved taking photos of our group by the pool everyday. So Todd decided to take a picture of him.
Cute photo of our shoes at"elegant night"


Our second formal night

Sorry to say this but this pool was SO LAME!

20 minute ride up the hill to the top of the zip line

They made us kiss for the photo.


The water was so freaking cold....can ya tell by my face?!


This is the gum that Matt sneezed out. We didn't know where it landed until 2 hours later when Kyle went to get something out of his bag.


The best Mexican restaurant in town with THE BEST GUACAMOLE. Made fresh at our table

We are at dinner chatting about what Amy and Anna did for 6 hours while we were on the zip line. They apparently solved the worlds problems, fought away groping men; and they did this without taking a single break to rest their jaws.

The Hilton: "This doesn't suck"

No, this is not the KKK, nor are we doing a session by the ocean but we are crab hunting.


Naughty Boys


This is how they look when they are naughty....

This is how Max looks when NAUGHTINESS runs out......asleep on the pantry floor



Monday, March 14, 2011

Valentines Day Dinner


Each year we do a candle light dinner with the kids. This year Lilly made name cards for everyone. Good time, however, two minutes into dinner Conner said, "Mom, I can't see my food. Can we turn the lights back on?" So much for that

Lilly's First Cavity


Lilly got her first cavity...isnt that special? 300 Hundred Dollar special, ugh! But she walked away with this cute teddy bear from Dr. Poulsen. Perfect reason to NOT brush your teeth ever again. I love Dr. Poulsen! I really do.

Kyle's Passion: Guitar




This was the best Christmas present for Kyle- a Les Paul Gibson electric guitar. You should have seen the look on his face when he opened the box. He was SPEECHLESS!

Kyle has played his baby everyday since Christmas

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pastey to Tastey

I hope Kyle doesn't get mad when he reads this but I have to tell this story. so funny!

Last month, I suggested to Kyle that he should go tanning before our cruise. He replied, "No, thanks. Its not my thing." I laughed because that is such a guy thing to say. I told him he should tan so he won't burn while on the cruise. You would think that as dark as he is and with his olive skin tone that he wouldn't burn but he does! During the summer he cakes on the sun screen-which is good- but he still burns. So finally after hours of "communicating" he said he will go tanning. A month goes by and he still hasn't gone tanning. Now its one week before the cruise and he decides, "OH! I need to start tanning."

Well its Monday night and he goes to Golden Tan. He pulls into the parking lot and freezes up. He won't go in. He calls me at home and says, "There are so many people inside. Its going to take forever. I don't want to do this." I reply, "Just go in. Tanning is only a few minutes. They will be done soon." He goes in.

FORTY FIVE MINUTES LATER he comes home. I am shocked that it has taken him so long. He walks into the house with the angriest face I have ever seen-which does not happen often. He was sooooo mad and said he would never go back ever again. This is what happened.

He goes up to the gal, "NIkki" (perfect name for a tanning salon employee) and says, "Im a tanning VIRGIN and I want to go from PASTEY TO TASTEY" Are you kidding me?! Did he really say that? YES! She tells him to do the high pressure bed. He calls me to find out if that is the right bed, "Yes, it is" THen Nikki tells him about their monthly special and its $80. Kyle went cross-eyed but then said YES, I will buy the pass." Nikki then proceeds to tell Kyle about her fabulous lotions. " You have to wear lotion....would you brush your teeth without toothpaste?" Kyle sees her point and says he will buy some lotion. She makes him smell several bottles and he said, "Okay fine. I will buy a this lotion" She says that will be 110. He said, "wow, only a dollar?" "um no, one hundred and ten dollars." Well, toothpaste doesn't cost more than five dollars" He said, "No! but I will buy a sample pack for 4 dollars. She rings him up and then takes him back to the "HIGH PRESSURE" BED......

Nikki explains the details of the bed and how it works. Kyle asks, "Do I go full monte?" "Why Yes, you do" (awkward). Kyle undresses and gets into the bed (of course after Nikki leaves the room). Five minutes goes by and the bed POPS open. He starts pushing buttons trying to get the bed to close but nothing is working. He gets out and puts his clothes back on. He goes to the front desk and tells Nikki, "My bed popped open" "HUH? What? No way? (in her valley girl voice). Are you serious?" So they walk back to the room and she pushes more buttons and tells Kyle to get back in the bed and it shouldn't happen again. Nikki leaves. Kyle undresses again and gets back into the bed. Sure enough, ten minutes goes by and POP! The bed opens up again. Kyle didn't want to get dressed AGAIN so he peeks his head out the door and yells, "Help! Help! I need some help back here. Hello! can someone help me? Something is wrong with my bed....hello....hello....hello" Finally he gets a reply. But its not from Nikki- its from the lady in the next bed. She tells Kyle to SHUT-UP and stop yelling.

By now, Kyle has had it! He was so mad. He gets dressed. Marches to the front desk. Looks at Nikki and says, "I want my money back. Your bed is broken. This is not for me." Nikki, "What? (valley girl voice) What? Was that you yelling?" "Ah,Yes. Thanks for helping me. and I would like my money back please" Nikki says, "uummm.... I am not authorized to do that. I will have to call head-quarters to get approval."

"Whatever" Kyle leaves.

Kyle comes home and I ask how the tanning went. He replies, "Well, which side?" "Huh? What do you mean 'which side'?" In a sarcastic voice he says, "Only half of my body got a tan."

Poor Kyle! Im so sorry he didn't have a good first experience tanning. But in the end, I talked him into going to Electric Beach and he has gone from "PASTEY to TASTEY"

Friday, February 18, 2011

Andew's BBall Story

Visit......... brandonandstacie.blogspot.com...... sweet story about Andrew............

Sunday, January 9, 2011

New Year: New Beginnings

2010 was memorable but 2011 will be unforgettable. It's my hunch. 2011 will be filled with fun, great accomplishments , connections and reconnecting, peace, and great health!

Fun with Friends and Family! Great accomplishments on the ski course (snow and water). Connecting with all those I care about. Reconnecting with those who I haven't been with for awhile! Peaceful moments. Great health- no illnesses of any sort - I'm not going to count FREAKING PINK EYE because that was before I wrote this. Pink Eye really cramps a girl's style! I can't live without mascara.

How could I forget this....2011 will be unforgettable because I will set a new TEXTING record. I love to text!


Christmas Celebrations: The Big Day




Up at 6AM. Grandma's at 8AM. Home at 12PM. Mama Rosa and Papa Joe here at 1PM. Play, play play in between it all. So fun!!!!!!!

Big Items- Band Hero, All American Doll and BUZZ Wings

Christmas Celebrations: Dinner with Kyle's High School Buddies



Christmas isn't Christmas without long time friends. We joined up with a few of the fellas and their wives- Mike and Meagan, Matt and Amy. Krista and Bret couldn't make it last minute because they were sick. It was a lovely evening filled with big laughs! Kyle and Amy were on fire! The setting was beautiful. We dined at Harvest restaurant (I really like their Rock Shrimp nachos and flat bread). It was just what we all needed...especially Meagan! No kids and no drama.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Breakfast with Santa at Grand America



Each year for our Taylor family Christmas tradition we usually go to Santa vs. Snowman in 3D at Imax. This year it wasn't playing so we tried something new- Breakfast with Santa at Grand America. What a spectacular experience. It was so festive, whimsical and fun! Grand America is gorgeous already so it doesn't take much to make it more "grand" The decorations were off the charts, the staff was amazing and the food was terrific. But what really stole the show was Santa and Mrs. Claus. He was the most real Santa I have ever seen and she was the cutest and most real Mrs. Claus I have ever seen. Sooo sweet and cute! Our kids couldn't believe their eyes. During breakfast they walked around to each section and sat with each child. We took pictures and filmed the experience. What was really cool and unexpected was how Santa got the parents to sit on his knee and ask us what we wanted. They didn't rush the process or let us down in the slightest. What a magical and fun time! Thank you Gary and Dixie with providing such a wonderful Christmas memory.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Grinch: What I don't like about Christmas this year!

"You're a mean one Mr. Grinch!" Well its Mrs. Grinch, today! I've hit a few tough days this past month but today, I've had it! Here is my top 10 things I don't like about this Chritmas!

1. Making Christmas cards! Shutterfly is ripping me off, and costco is too freaking busy!
2. FLU! sick this week, this is not a time to get sick
3. sick kids
4. sick husband
5. kids unwrapping gifts
6. smog
7. too much church work. Gotta get ready for the new year. Lots of Lists! ugh!
8. running around from town to town
9. dirty kitchen everyday
10.long lines

This was all brought on by making christmas cards!!!!!!
Okay, calm down Alena! Im going to be fine. Today is the last day of Christmas drama. Things are on the up & up! I REALLY DO LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

"Jury Duty?" Are you kidding me?


Jury duty was quite the adventure-which is an understatement. I wish I had the stomach to spill all the details, but instead I will let anyone who cares to go on-line and read about the case. Andrea Billingsly- Teacher Assistant who sexually abused (seduced) two 14 year old boys. Guilty on all 7 counts. Here is a photo of my new best friends (jury members) haha!

Best part....I made $165 bucks!