The latest with the kids...

Morgan doesn't really care to wear pj's anymore - she wears a tank top and her basketball shorts to bed. We were gathering in the living room the other night for our nightly Bible study, and this is what Morgan was wearing (her usual).


Haleigh, who normally wears her High School Musical pj's, came out looking quite similar to someone else in the family! The funny thing about all of this - Haleigh would NEVER admit to wanting to be like Morgan, but she really does want to be like her!
Here is a picture of the two of them together :) Morgan acts like she's annoyed by it, but I think that she likes it that Haleigh looks up to her.

And, of course, Haleigh always has to give us a funny picture to bribe her with later in life!

Jacob has been learning to read...he loves to read his little readers, and he especially likes to do it looking like Spiderman. As soon as I tried to take a video of him reading he got embarrassed, so you can't hear him read. He is pretty good though - he will be ready for kindergarten next year!

Jacob has been doing a great job leading d song during our young men's worship services. I finally took a video. The sound is bad, but you can kind of get the picture! He wanted to lead Blue Skies and Rainbows, but it is not in the book, so he just introduced it, took a deep breath, and started. I am sorry that you will also hear my voice - I didn't think about it until half way through and then decided not to sing...just listen to him, please! He did a great job, and we are so proud of him.

Have a great (long) weekend!

1 Week Down!

Well, I have made it through almost a whole week of school. Things are going well. I really enjoy the kids and my co-workers, so that is good. I am exhausted, but that will get better. My feet are killing me - I actually asked Mark to rub my feet last night (and he did)! Obviously, I have been really busy, so I will update more later.

Guess what we had in our yard?!?!

I was meeting with a friend at Starbucks last night when I got a call from Haleigh saying "You're lucky daddy has a gun"! I was concerned by that, but then she proceeded to tell me that they had found a rattle snake in the yard and that daddy had shot it. I absolutely didn't believe them, but this is what I saw when I got home...

You can see where Mark chopped its head off to get rid of the poisonous part! You can also see where he shot him. Nice shot Mark!

Here is the proof that it is indeed a rattle snake. I am so glad I was not here when the found it/heard it in the grass. I would have had a heart attack. Good thing Mark was the one to come upon it. He has had lots of experience killing snakes. But, I think this one was a little too close to his children...so it freaked him out too. You can click on the picture to make it bigger so you can really see that rattle well.

Anyway, that was our fun for the night! Hopefully that won't happen again. Once in a lifetime is enough fun for me with a rattle snake.

Jacob's Best Friends

Lightning got a buzz - he looks totally different. It is hard being hairy during the hot summers, so he got a much needed haircut.

Here is Jacob with the newest member of the Taylor family - Cookie. Some people at church were wanting to get rid of their Shitzu, so we decided that she would be a good friend for Lightning. She is doing real well with us - fitting in really well.

Here is Jacob with his 2 buddies - Lightning and Cookie. He was holding their mouths just like he holds human mouths (his security blanket I guess), but Lightning wouldn't cooperate for a picture of it.

Answering some questions...

VBS is over - we had a fantastic week, and it was a huge success. I think the kids had a great time, and they learned a lot about serving others. Thanks to everyone who helped! Sami worked her butt off and pulled off an amazing VBS. She has worked really, really hard this summer, and she deserves a lot of thanks.

I am winding down my summer quickly. I start work on Monday, and then school starts the following Monday. I am ready to get going, but I know I will be a little nervous the first day of school. Next week is an in-service week. I will be missing one day due to grand jury. Jodi was asking how that will work with school. Basically, I have to go to grand jury one day a month. I will miss one day of school for that, but no big deal...it is my civic duty.

I love the Olympics!

I just love the Olympics. It's funny though because I wouldn't normally watch swimming, diving, track and field, etc. except for during the Olympics. I just love watching the United States in the Olympics - you feel a real sense of national pride when you watch our athletes compete against the other greats in the world! The men's 4 x 100 m. relay last night was one of the most amazing races I have ever seen in swimming. It looked like the French team was a sure win during the last leg of the relay, but the Americans pulled out an amazing win. It was really exciting. So...Michael Phelps is still on his way to 8 gold medals.

My very favorite sport is gymnastics. I love watching the girls. The Chinese girls (little tiny girls who look like they are 12) are amazing. I get so nervous when I watch them, so it is usually better for me to know the results before I watch the event. This works out well for us here since we usually see things on a time delay. The U.S. team looks okay - two stars and then the other girls. I can't wait to watch the finals. When I was a gymnast, my worst event was the balance beam. It really does stress me out to watch it. I thought this picture was funny...what to do and what not to do. When I was about 13 or 14, I was practicing my back handsprings on the low practice beam, and I missed one hand and hit my face on the beam. After that, I was terrified of the beam. It amazes me the things the girls can do on 4 inches.

Go U.S.A. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Another year older...

Today is my birthday. Why is it that birthdays just aren't as exciting as you get older? Morgan was saying that we have no fun on our birthdays when we are "older". We don't have a special party, no special cake with our favorite movie or cartoon character on it, and we don't get a stack of presents like kids do. I told her it's because we don't want anyone to know that we are getting older! I don't feel as old as I am (33), but I don't feel as young as I once did. Sometimes I feel old because most of my friends that are in their 30's have younger children than I do. What is it about growing older that we don't like? It's not like being 33 is old, but my kids think it is!!! It's not like I have dentures and a hospital bed yet! Anyway, I'm proud to be another year older because maybe it means that I'm another year wiser!!!!

Lake Texoma

We went to Lake Texoma this weekend for our annual camping trip with friends from church. We had a great time despite the scorching hot weather. You know it has been a hot summer when even the lake water feels like a warm bath - even out in the deep water. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Morgan is a great knee boarder. She can get up on the knee board - something neither of her parents can do! I always forgot to take the camera out while we were tubing on Darren's boat, so I don't have pictures of anyone else.

If you ever go to Brazil, you must buy a hammock. I have never spent money on a better thing in my whole life. Everyone enjoyed it...

...even Allyson.

Jacob making his famous mud pie (with Austa's help).

Here is our camper.

Some pretty pictures of the lake!

We saw some amazing sunsets - I just wish the camera could actually capture the beauty of a sunset, but the picture just doesn't do it justice.