Halloween Decorating

I've been waiting and waiting for September to be over so I could decorate for Halloween.

I started by trimming the bushes in front of my house. BIG mistake. I hurt for 3 days after. You'd be surprised how many muscles you don't use when you start doing yard work.

Then I put up a dead lighted tree (on the left), frightful green box lights and purple and orange pathway lights. They look so good in the evening.

I bought my Wednesday doll several weeks ago and now she is joined by my Halloween sign, wire pumpkin and orange flameless candles.

My favorite is what I call my pumpkin patch...glass pumpkins surrounded by the kids pictures. The jack-o-lantern on the far right is filled with candy. It's the good kind of candy so not for the trick or treaters. Mostly for decoration right now but look out for the rest of October.

And what's Halloween without a cookie jar. This might have been a big mistake. The jar sits on my kitchen counter and every time I walk by I crave a cookie...double stuffed Oreos. I'll probably gain 50 pounds before the holiday is over.

Family Photos

Melissa loves getting family photos. This year she decided to have the photographer come to her house and take pictures on their property.

Struggling to get 5 kids to cooperate can be a bit of a struggle but it looks like she pulled it off.

While I prefer candid shots, it's always nice to know I can depend on Melissa to get me a recent photo of all the kids.

Ma's Day Tailgate Party

One of the local churches set up a tailgate party which also happened to be Grandparent's Day or what I like to call "Ma's" Day.

Food trucks, bounce houses, slides, face painting and the Chiefs mascot KC Wolf were all on hand to celebrate the opening day of football season in Kansas City.

Best of all I was able to get an updated picture of me with Violet, Lincoln, Hazel, Goldie and Pearl.

Lots of fun and excitement for all ages.

Childhood Friends

There's something about getting together with friends from your childhood. They know all the fun stuff we did as kids.

Jana, Jamie, John, Jim and I got together for dinner at Jana and Jim's house. We laughed and laughed about things from grade school and high school but then things turned to kids, grandkids and ailments. I guess old friends still do old people stuff.

Goldie Goes to Preschool

Watch out world. Goldie is going to preschool.

Melissa was a little nervous about Goldie even getting out of the car the first day of school but she jumped right out. I told Melissa now she just has to wait for a call from the school saying Goldie beat someone up. That didn't happen. She actually likes school and is making new friends. Whew!!! 

New Storm Day

I got a Grandparent's Day present a little early this year. I finally went to the top of Jamie's "To Do" list and he installed a new storm door for me.

I'm a little...okay...a lot claustrophobic and I like having my front door open. Nothing really happens in my neighborhood but it's nice to know if something does I'll be able to see it!

Back to School

It's that time again. Time for all good Taylor kids to go back to school.

Violet is in her last year at middle school. She's anxious to start or maybe finish with middle school.

Lincoln is entering the 5th grade. He reminds me so much of Michael. He has to be dressed just right.

Hazel is going into 2nd grade. How can that be? She's still excited about school and learning new things. Me on the other hand can't make the time slow down. Acceptance is another word besides patience I must add to my vocabulary.

Football and Soccer

For the next few weeks, Saturdays will be spent at the football field and the soccer field.

Lincoln had his first tackle football game. That's him on the end in the maroon jersey. I wasn't very comfortable watching him go out on the field to play tackle football. There were a few boys I'd like to have checked their birth certificates. They were huge. But Lincoln seems to enjoy playing.

Later that day was Hazel's soccer game. Watching 7 year old girls play soccer is..what can I say...rather uneventful. The girls haven't quite learned to play a zone defense. It's just a bunch of little girls in a group trying to kick a ball. There are a few who seem a little more versed in the sport but not many. What a way to spend a Saturday. 

Starlight Theater - Neil Diamond - A Beautiful Noise

I haven't been to Starlight Theater in years. My best friend from high school invited me to go and see the Neil Diamond musical "A Beautiful Noise". It's the story of Neil Diamond's life. I didn't realize he started out by writing music for other artists. When the cast started singing "I'm a Believer" I turned to Jamie and said "wasn't that the Monkeys song?" Turns out it was written by Neil Diamond.

While the temperature was extremely hot, it's nice to have friends with season tickets next to the stage where you can feel the air conditioning. It made for a "Beautiful" night!

4th of July

It's not really 4th of July yet but Trish asked me to help her with her car so we took advantage of the day and went to breakfast and then shopping.

We finished off what should have been half a day but turned into the whole day with ice cream from Andy's. Now that's a 4th of July bang!

Milestone Anniversary

Melissa and Jamie celebrated a milestone anniversary - 20 years.

I offered to help Violet babysit so they could go out to dinner. There was a lot of pool time which made me very nervous. I kept counting heads to make sure no one was lost.

Add to that, Pearl wanted me to keep filling her water table so the water would rain down. Not a hard job but when she gave me the cup with holes in it, it was much harder to keep filling the upper trough.

We then went inside where I had 5 kids demanding my attention - reading books, playing with babies. Just goes to prove why we have kids when we're young. Happy Anniversary Melissa and Jamie. May you survive another 20!

Michael Turns 45!

I can hardly believe Michael turned 45. I can't believe I'm still NOT 45!

Teresa and I took him to lunch at one of his favorite spots - Q39. As usual I forgot to take a picture. Luckily Michael took one of himself. Happy Birthday Michael! Now that's enough. 

Flashback

An old friend was digging through old photos and sent me a copy of a picture taken on a float trip back in I believe the late 80's.

This sure brought back memories. Good or bad it doesn't matter. I looked good!

Michael Jackson The Movie

Violet wanted to go see the Michael Jackson movie so we went together. I didn't realize Michael Jackson is only 4 years younger than me. The movie covers the first 30 years of his life when Michael Jackson was mostly singing with his brothers - The Jackson 5.

The kids these days are watching Michael Jackson videos of his dance moves. Lincoln is constantly doing the moon walk whenever I see him. I told Violet that Michael Jackson was the Taylor Swift of the 70's and 80's. I highly recommend seeing the movie and can't wait until the next one comes out.

Hummingbird Feeder

I usually put out my hummingbird feeder each Spring. I was a little late this year, maybe...when do hummingbirds start coming around?

I didn't have it set up for very long before the same hummingbird returned. I know it's the same one because of the white ring around its neck. While I'm not an expert on hummingbirds, I don't think all of them have that white ring. I'm calling it my hummingbird anyway. By the way, her name is Jaunita! Juan and Edwardo are the other 2 but I haven't seen them around.

Pearl Working the TV

I did a littler babysitting with Goldie and Pearl. After reading several books to them I decided to put on the TV to a show the kids might like. As with all electronics, I couldn't figure out how to turn the stupid TV on. Pearl wanted the remote so I figured she couldn't break it if I couldn't even turn it on.

Next thing I now Pearl's intently watching her favorite show on the TV. How do kids do it?

Nearing the End of the School Year

The end of another school year is getting closer.

Kids don't go on exciting field trips much any more. Instead they play games on the playground. They seem to enjoy it!

Mother's Day

I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day.

With the help of Teresa, Jamie and Michael I was able to get my driveway sealed before the winter salt treatment stuff absolutely ruined it.

Instead of trying to fight the crowds we had a barbecue at home. What better way to get family pictures.

While waiting for Teresa to finish barbecuing the hamburgers, the kids entertained themselves with a deck of cards. It took me awhile to find the cards but I knew I had a deck somewhere. Maybe the cards were hard to find because of my shock of the kids wanting a deck of cards instead of playing on their iPads!

I try to update a picture I have around my house of Melissa with her kids. Success!

Another photo I wanted was of me and my kids. We tried one up close and then a little farther away. I think I look better farther away plus we were all squinting without sunglasses. But unclose it was.

What a great day full of fun and not too much drama! 

Hazel's Baby Book

I did it! After 6 years of procrastinating, I finally finished Hazel's baby book.

My goal is to finish Goldie's and Pearl's baby books before the end of the year. I really don't know why I keep putting it off. The books look so good when I'm finished and I love the feeling of accomplishment. Let's see if I can stick with this goal!

Flag Football and Soccer

It's the end of flag football and soccer season and with all the make up games I got a little tired of watching games.

But Pearl and I were troopers and showed up for Hazel's soccer game. Lincoln had already played his flag football game and this was Hazel's second soccer game of the day. What's a little sunburn when you have suckers!