Early 4th of July Celebration

July 3rd seemed to be the day to celebrate the 4th of July.

The Taylor kids celebrated at the neighbors with a bar-b-cue and fireworks.

Lincoln and Violet also took a ride in the neighbor's helicopter. Good thing it was during the day or they might have been dodging fireworks!

Sunday Showcase - Guest Room Decor

My original plan for decorating in the guest bedroom was a pink and green plant to put in the corner. Well I got the plant but it wasn't doing well without being directly in front of the window. I brought it into the living room and it's thriving. So instead of putting it back in the guest bedroom and risking it dying, I decided to go a different route.

I'm not a big fan of fake plants, so I put together a vase full of floral accents that didn't really resemble plants but still had the same effect. Sometimes I think it looks like a funeral arrangement and other times I think it's just perfect.

This is a view from the door. Not bad for an amateur floral arrangement!

Sweet Sixteen!

Melissa and Jamie celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary.

Jamie planned a dinner at the Marina 27 Steak and Seafood restaurant at Lake Lotawana. 

Sixteen years and 4 kids later, they're still going strong. Happy Anniversary!

Colorado Trip - Good and BAD!

I told Michele I'd love to come to Colorado and visit her but after we meet and have dinner, there isn't much left to do. So when I found out Courtney was making the trip to visit her parents, I decided to go.

Michele had us moving the whole time I was there. The first day was a presentation of Footloose at a local community theater. Being an avid Footloose fan, I was rather disappointed they focused more on the preacher aspect of the movie as opposed to the dancing. They made up their own words to songs - some of my favorites. I kept turning to Courtney and saying "that's not the right words" or "that's not how the movie went". Overall the production was very entertaining.

The next day we went paddle boarding. Courtney has done this before and is 30 years younger than me and Michele so I consider her a pro.

But Michele will try anything and was able to stand up.

Me, on the other hand, hung desperately to the board just praying I wouldn't fall into the freezing water.

The next morning I woke up early (like 3:30 early) and decided to head on home. About 2 hours from Aurora, I ran over some big rig tire debris which tore up the underside of my car taking out my entire cooling system. While my car is screaming at me to stop, I'm coasting down an exit in Burlington, CO, praying I get off the busy interstate.

What do you do when you're put in that situation? You call Jamie Taylor. As I was trying to explain what happened through my tears, Jamie was hooking up his trailer to come get me. I told him I was in Burlington to which he replied that it wasn't that far away. He was thinking Burlington, KS. When I said it was Burlington, CO, I think he started unhooking the trailer! After an 864 mile round trip, my car is safely at the dealership waiting to be repaired. It's going to be awhile before I head back to Colorado. Maybe next time I should consider flying!

Goldie Sits Up

Well she finally did it.

With everyone trying to get Goldie to sit up and her constant falling over, she finally sat up long enough to look at a book. Or did Melissa throw the book at her and rush to get a picture before she fell over. Either way, we have a sitter! 

New Set of Wheels

Goldie loves to be outside but at only (almost) 6 months old, she's not mobile. Carrying her around is the only option. Not only is this inconvenient at times but she doesn't always like to be held.

So I thought I'd get her a set of wheels. She can't navigate the walker yet but it does give her the freedom to sit up and watch what everyone is doing. She can push back the walker but I'm sure she has no idea what she's doing. Maybe in another month she'll be flying through the house and down the driveway!

Goldie's First Tooth

Goldie's been having a terrible time napping the past few days - or could it be weeks - you'd have to ask Melissa.

Today we found out one of the reasons was she popped through her first tooth.

Hopefully soon we'll be able to get a picture of her smiling showing off her pearly white without Melissa's fingers in the way!