It's About Time!

Halle's Big Day finally arrived! She's been so excited to start kindergarten. We've been counting the days down for about a month, so we were all thrilled to take her to school. We are looking forward to helping her learn and grow this year.

She was thrilled to see some of her friends from preschool. These girls are adorable!

Her teacher, Mrs. Holt, is amazing!

(Minor disclaimer here: Don't look too close at me. I'm in the middle of "is she pregnant or just fat?" stage of this pregnancy.)

Hooray for kindergarten!

This & That

We've been trying to take advantage of summer, and for the most part, we are having a great time! And, since my summer vacation has included a mini-vacay from blogging, this post will include lots of goodies!

We went to the Days of '47 Children's Parade with Halle's Primary. The kids had such a good time waving to all of the onlookers. Halle felt pretty darn proud. I was interviewed by Channel 2 during the parade, which I thought was pretty cool, and Sam was totally embarrassed.

Our Little Miss lost her first tooth! And, bonus! She lost her tooth about 20 minutes after her good friend Mic lost his first tooth. They were so excited to have the tooth fairy visit. She made $5, and she was thrilled. Now, though, she wants all her teeth out, because she thinks it's a good money making scheme.

Sam and I went to The Lion King. We have both seen it in NY before, but this time was just as good! Thanks, Mom & Dad, for the tickets!

We finally took the bottle away from Chase. As the picture shows, this boy is completely addicted to milk. He refuses to drink milk out of a sippy cup, so we waited for a long time (probably too long) to take his bottle away. But, ever since, the boy cannot get enough food in him. He eats all day, every day.

Sam has been on two big hikes: Timpanogas & Lone Peak. He has hiked Timp quite a few times, but Lone Peak was a new adventure. Good thing I didn't find out about the aspects of the hike until afterwords. Let's just say it was dangerous, and he will not be going up Lone Peak again.

We went on a overnight stay with my family to Park City. My parents got a swanky hotel room and we spent the weekend on the alpine slide, visiting Main Street & shopping. It was so much fun. I didn't take a ton of pictures though.

We are headed to St. George this weekend for a final summer outing, and then Halle starts kindergarten!

Since I've Always Wanted a Minivan...

... introducing baby #3!

Debuting in early February.

The Month in Review...

I've been a blogging bust. Sorry. I have a good excuse, though. Here it is: It's summer, and I'm lazy. I've been looking at my camera for days, thinking that I should really put those pictures on the computer, but I wouldn't, because it just seemed like so much work. Pathetic, I know. Today, however, I found a burst of energy, and cleaned the house, held Halle's craft club, and uploaded pictures. Wow, I deserve a medal.

Here's what we've been up to in the last little while:

Halle had her dance recital, and it was so good! She's really coming along in dance, and I love that she loves it.

We've been having weekly craft club gatherings with some of the girls in the neighborhood. It has been so much fun, and the girls love it!

We've been cleaning. Wow, talk about exciting.

Halle and her friends had a lemonade/lollipop stand, and made $21 in 2 hours!

We've been playing with the water. A lot.

We went to the Stadium of Fire with my family and watched Carrie Underwood. She is my favorite. It was a blast!

And, sometimes, after all this fun, even princesses need their beauty rest.

So, even though we haven't traveled anywhere yet this summer, we are taking full advantage of the sunshine. Yea for summer!

My name is Ashley Taylor, and I use the television to baby-sit my kids.

I would love to say that my entire day is spent creating meaningful learning experiences for my kids, but I can't. Don't get me wrong, we do things together, but sometimes -- okay, more than sometimes -- the television is my best friend. When Halle was little, she loved Dora, and I'm proud to say that Dora taught her shapes and colors (and even a few Spanish words), by the time she turned two.

Chase, however, has become hooked to another show. He loves Curious George. Like, he really loves it. We currently have 53 episodes saved on our DVR. And, frankly, I love that he loves it, because it gives me a half hour of peace every once in a while. Since Chase is incredibly exhausting, the small moments of peace is the only thing keeping me sane! The only problem is, George is a monkey, and he doesn't talk (only monkey talk). So, Chase has adopted monkey talk as his #1 language. He "oo oos" and "ah ahs" all the time, but we can't get him to talk. He knows a few words, but mostly he just speaks and acts like a monkey. We've tried to show him other cartoons, like Dora, but he hates them. He throws a fit until we turn on Curious George. So, we do.

My son is 19 months old, and he thinks he's a monkey. And, for now, that's all right with me.

Country Fair

Every year, the PTO puts on a country fair at the elementary school. Halle was super excited to go for the first time, because as an incoming kindergartner, she was a special guest. Her dance company also performed at the event, making it double the fun!

Of course, what would any event be without chasing Chase? I am convinced in the next edition of the dictionary, there will be a picture of Chase next to the word naughty. He makes anything we do an adventure. Anyway, he loved running around with his balloon and causing ruckus.

Halle was thrilled to get her hair colored and her face painted.

It was a super fun night!

The Graduate

Halle's preschool experience has been amazing. She had an awesome teacher, and she learned so much over the course of the year. She is ready for kindergarten! It's hard to believe our little girl will be starting school in the fall, but we are so excited for her. She loves to learn, and she loves school. We are blessed to have such a beautiful, smart and fun girl!

Halle joined her classmates for preschool graduation. The program was fantastic! Miss Karie does such an amazing job. The students sang songs, recited poems, and showed off their work from the year.

Chase couldn't hold still the entire time. This kid is going to do me in! Sam says that if nothing else, he's consistent. He breaks every rule!

At the end of the program, the students dressed up in official graduation attire. I had no idea they were going to do this. Could they be any cuter?

We are so proud of Halle! We can't wait to watch her continue to grow. She is an amazing kid!