Lately...

we've just been around here- not doing too much of anything exciting. My parents and brother came down for a few days two weeks ago. It was a fun trip. We are trying to sell our house so we're busy keeping it in showing condition. Here are some pics, I really don't feel like typing anything. Maybe I'll come back to this, I don't know. I'm just not feeling it right now.

Taylor's steps to dying Easter eggs.

1. Get your hard bolied egg.

2. Pick up your white crayon.

3. Scribble on one end and one end only!

4. Drop it a few times to ensure cracking the shell.

5. Drop in dish and splash dye everywhere.

6. Remove and marvel at your handiwork.

use next step if needed:

7. Give baby brother a piece of carboard to eat so parents can focus completely on you.

I lOvE this!

Valentine's Day Date

So because of the bet I lost (see previous post about the mile run) I had to plan out Valentine's Day Date. I was planning on going rock climbing or laser tagging... but Matt said plan something we both would enjoy. So I found that these big monsters were in town- so we went- how romantic!


This bad pup was my favorite- the driver was pretty entertaining during his minute "freestyle" portion. Also, the tongue went in and out as he drove.



The intermission show was a man and his adult two daughters riding motorcycles in the steel cage. I guess this wasn't very cool because a lot of the people there had been to the circus the week before and there were 7 little people on motorcycles in a cage at that show.


So when I was getting ready to go I put on blue jeans and a polo shirt. Matt said there's no way he'd let me go looking that nice. So I changed into jeans witha hole in the knee and my Goodwill Texas shirt. I went to go pick up our baby sitter and came back to Matt smearing mustard into his shirt so he would "fit in better" at the Monster Truck show. Again- how romantic!

Snow Days

By the end of our ski trip Taylor was finally getting used to the snow and enjoyed playing in it- then we left. Well, snow came to use this past weekend. It started raining Thursday night and most of Friday and ALL day on Saturday (which didn't stop Matt and Scott from going out and playing disc golf).


Sunday the temperature dropped and that night the rain turned into bits of ice and then snow. Schools were cancelled and life just about shuts down around here. We got probably 3 1/2 inches of snow on top of all that rain! The boys and I got out in it and built their first snow man. The snow stuck together well but then it was hard to get the eyes to stay- which really bothered Taylor. We still have some snow on the ground next to our house but for the most part it all melted yesterday. It's supposed to be 77 on Saturday! I can't wait!







Brayden doesn't have a snow suit so I put him in his Halloween costume so he'd stay warm. When Taylor saw him he laughed and said "baby a rabbit."

I think he's the cutest little rabbit!

Lounging Outside

Last Thursday the weather was gorgeous... until that night and all weekend but I'll get to that later. It was about 60 outside so after Taylor's nap we went outside to play. Taylor was "basking" in the sunlight while Brayden played on a blanket and searched for the grapes I kept giving him that he kept losing.

Brayden has learned to clap. It's so cute and he gets so excited when he does it.

***side note- I love Linda and Richard Eyre. They have a ton of kids and write parenting books. I'm reading one of their books right now. They write so well. It's not overwhelming or discouraging to read the things I should be doing. They... inspire? (I don't know if that's the right word)... me to be a better mom. Pick up ANY of their books and start reading!

UP

Taylor has a stool that he keeps next to his bed so he can climb in at night. He calls it his "up." (Any ladder is also called an up) The other day we were playing in the living room and Matt and I were talking and Taylor ran into his room, got his "up" and used it to climb up the back of the couch. He did that a few times and then he got quiet. All of a sudden he started screaming and Matt and I looked over the side of the couch and saw this:

I don't know how he did it but he got his head stuck inside his stool. We couldn't get it off without almost ripping his ears off so we had to cut him out. So- like any good mom I ran to get the scissors, and the camera!

Now he tells me his up his broken- but at least he can still use it.

Ski Trip

So we had a blast in Colorado. I think Brayden's favorite part was the airplane ride. He loved scaling the back of the seats. Thank goodness for my video iPod- that kept Taylor busy the entire trip!

My parents rented a condo at the base of the mountain in Breckenridge. We had season passes so we went skiing Thursday afternoon and then relaxed in the hot tub. Friday Alan skipped school and came out with us. The big news is that Matt skied. He's a snowboarder but all my family ski so he wanted to try it- especially before Taylor did. He was AMAZING! It was fun to watch him learn something new. He did really well. The conditions were great! On Friday night my sister and her husband flew in. We haven't all been together since their wedding in Aug 2007 so it was fun to hang out.

We went sledding every night and made it to the hot tub and indoor/outdoor pool every night. These were Taylor's favorite activities.

Saturday after lunch we rented the smallest pair of skis and boots for Taylor. At first he was really excited but his boots were tight(like they're supposed to be) and he didn't like that. Once he got over this- HE LOVED IT! He started turning and everything! I can't wait til next season because he's going o be flying down the mountain! He really wanted to ride the "cho-cho" in the sky. (the chair lift) Once we got to the top he didn't want to ski down. He skied for a little while but ended up being held by grandpa.

It's been almost a month now since I've done anything here- and I need to, I know, but I'm not feeling it. Here's a peek at what we did last week... more to come soon.

I {heart}

So a year ago my friend Jes called to tell me Target had a lot of toys on sale- WAY on sale. I threw Taylor in the car and drove to my Target, plus two more up in Charlotte and my Birthday/Christmas shopping for the boys was done... in the middle of January! It was amazing. There were some really good deals. I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this year's sale, and it finally came! Yesterday I found out from babycheapskate.com that the sale was starting. As soon as Brayden woke up from his nap I rushed out the door. Here's the loot from my trip:

Play-Doh- 3lbs orig 6.99/pd- 1.74

Leap Frog # Puzzle orig 9.99/pd. 2.48

Leap Frog Letter Puzzle orig 9.99/ pd 2.48

Candy Land Castle Game orig 9.99/ pd 2.48

Bloom Memory Game orig 7.99/ pd 1.98

Leap Frog Sing Along/Read Along orig 14.99/ pd 3.74

Leap Frog Fix the Mix Sequence game orig 14.99/ pd 3.74

Leap Frog MatchUp Concentration game orig 14.99/ pd 3.74

The Office Board Game orig 24.99/ pd 6.24

FishePrice Little People Learning Town orig 44.99/ pd 11.24

I got taylor 3 shirts at $1.78/ea and snow boots for $3.74

My total should have been: 198.86

I paid : 48.94

Those are some of my daily pictures... so cute. I love the rubber duck one!

So we've been pretty boring around here lately trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives... Matt got accepted to BYU- that's great news. Now we're just waiting to hear back for California (UCLA and CAL) and he's trying to decide if he's going to apply to Stanford.

Taylor hasn't had an accident since Saturday. We were at the Marker's house and there were new toys to play with so I think he just forgot and was too distracted. The other day we were driving up to Charlotte and he said he needed to go potty, and I'm not sure how long he can hold it once he's says he needs to go- so yes, we stopped on the side of the hwy. It took him a while to go because we stopped across from a construction site and there were cranes, dump trucks and bulldozers EVERYWHERE! hmm... maybe he planned it that way?!

Brayden is sick again. He keeps getting these colds and they are driving us CRAZY! He gets really congested and the poor guy wheezes. I don't know what to do. He gets sick almost every Monday... right after church. Other than church, we're not around too many people. I don't know if he needs to stay home and not go or what. Any tips for keeping your kid healthy? No one else holds him at church either... ugghh. See- this post is even boring me. I'll try again when we've done anything cool.

Pic from Ray's Splash Planet on 1/12

Potty Party!!!

So the day is upon us... Potty Training. I tried back in, I can't remember, maybe September to potty train him. We wen through 8 pairs of underwear in one day and a package of pull-ups the next two. I was done, and he wasn't ready. I decided with the new year, this is a resolution I can handle. We started yesterday and it has gone great! Stickers, treats and "being like daddy" have worked their magic and he even goes to the potty without me asking him to. We had two accidents yesterday, but none today and we even were out of the house for an hour and a half.

I was really into scrapbooking while we lived in Utah- mainly because that is the Mecca for scrapbooking and I had a lot of resources available. Since I moved to SC I have really missed my friends that I used to get together with and "MY" scrapbook store Pebbles in my Pocket. I've decided I need to get over it and start up again because I really miss it. Becky Higgins- a designer for Creating Keepsakes came up with an idea called the 365 Project. The idea behind it is to scrapbook everyday this year. You take a picture everyday and write on a little card about the picture- nothing big, just to capture a moment from each day. Although all the kits are gone, I'm going to do it anyway. This picture sums up what we've been doing all day.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas here in South Carolina- all by ourselves. It was really nice to not travel at all during the holidays. Christmas eve we went to our friends, Scott and Jes's house for appetizers. That night we came home and read the Christmas story while Taylor rearranged and rearranged and rearranged the nativity set. We opened our family presents that night. Taylor was wired! He loved opening presents and playing with his new toys. We are so grateful for such wonderful parents and grandparents that really care about the kids... we can't complain about the spoiling that is done either! We sure miss our families- but are grateful for the blessings we have received from our Heavenly Father. We have a healthy family, a secure job, I get to stay at home with our children and we have the gospel. Here are some pictures from our holiday:

We had crepes (A Fowler tradition) on Christmas morning, even Braydo ejoyed them: