Long time no . . . see?

Ok, so it's been a really long time and a lot happens in a year, but i will make it short and sweet with an update on all of us and some pictures to enjoy. We are still here, in Las Vegas (at least for the time being). We are trying to get out of Vegas but still don't have a job ANYWHERE to go to. Nathan is staying busy with side work. He did get a job for a bit but the company was crappy and the bosses were C R A Z Y! So he stood it as long as he could, then couldn't stand it anymore. :-) He is much happier doing side work and he keeps getting a lot of it so it's keeping us a float here. He is still the YM President in our ward and enjoys that very much. He's a good president and loves the boys and being able to be involved. His girls ABSOLUTELY love him, all three of us. He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father and we love him for how hard he works and sacrafices for us. Me, I'm still the same ole crazy Shannon I have always been. I have been diagnosed with a disease called Hashimoto's, but don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. All it means is my thyroid is dead. I have HypOthyroidism. That is opposite of what most of you think I have. I should have weighed 400 lbs and had a much harder time getting out of bed (than I do ;-) ). They warned me that once I got on the medicine, I would lose weight, but actually the opposite has happened (I've always been a bit backwards) I was able to put on some lbs that I had been trying to for a long time! And I really have much more energy that I have had in a LONG time! It's pretty great! I still sing with The Saints Unified Voices and love every minute of that! I am so uplifted when we do presentations that I don't want to come home to "normal" world. I am also still in the Young Womens Presidency and get to work with some amazing Women and Young Women! I spend my days at home with Chyler everyday and I love it! She is getting so big and fun it's just a great time all around.

Makayla is the same funny girl she has always been! She just keeps getting smarter and smarter everyday! We're not huge fans of her 2nd grade teacher (which after having an AMAZING 1st grade teacher is a real disappointment). But inspite of all that, she is working very hard at school and knows so much it kills me the things that come out of her mouth everyday. She is so animated and funny, she keeps us laughing. She also ADORES her little sister, who in turn thinks Makayla is the greatest thing on the planet. Chyler calls her Sissy and you can hear her running around the house calling for her "Sissy" at any given moment during the day. I LOVE it!

Chyler, oh my Chyler! She is so funny, so strong willed and so into her own things its fun. She and Makayla are very different but in a great way and we love her so much! Everyday is an adventure with our Bug. She is so cuddly when she wants to be but when she's doing her own thing, dont bug her! I absolutely adore this little girl and am so grateful that I am able to be home with her and enjoy her while Makayla is at school. We have fun.

I had to share this picture because this is what happens when you leave your 7 year old, unattended with a sleeping 1 year old. Those are Cinnabon cereal swirls stuck to Chyler's face. We all got a good laugh out of it, especially Makayla. Her favorite subject in school is art, so she is just letting her creativity flow wherever it can. :-)

So, for our final bit of info on the Taylor clan, we are expecting family member number 5. That's right, we are pregnant again and having a baby in October. And, what I am almost positive about, is Nate's little boy, finally. He's been feeling a bit out numbered with three girls to him. We don't know it's a boy for sure yet, and as soon as I do, I hope to let you all know.

Well, thanks for catching up with us, and hopefully now that I am feeling better, i might actually start updating our blog again. Till then . . .

craziness

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that I didn't run away or fall off the face of the earth, however, my computer has had massive issues 2x in the last few months and I wanna scream. Right now my computer is frozen in a weird way. And of course all my pictures and EVERYTHING is on my computer! GRRRRR. So, I PROMISE that I will post pictures of cute Chyler WALKING!! That's right, she is walking?? Anyway, I will do that as soon as it's better, I promise.

Oh & I have to give Aunt Cole a shout out . . . hey Nicole! We love you!! :-*

Kids!

So Makayla is funny and witty, a little too witty for her own good. The other day she was eating strawberries, and kept going in the kitchen to cut the "leafs" off and then come back in the living room. Well at one point, after eating about 15 strawberries (the girl can down an entire pack from Costco in one sitting!) I hear her voice from the kitchen saying,

"Um, yeah, about this strawberry mess in the kitchen, Don't look at me."

and comes causally walking back into the living room with her strawberry in hand and innocent look on her face! Where do kids come up with this stuff?!?!

It's happened!!

Alright ya'all, here she is . . . crawling!! At 7 and a half month's!! She is soo cute isn't she.

Chyler, just cuz she is cute

Some cute pictures of my baby girl face Chyler bug! She is getting . . . well not big, cuz she's pretty little too, but she is getting mobile. She is scooting all over the place and it's freaking cute! Here she is just starting to sit up. Enjoy.

road trip nightmares

Last Friday we decided we needed to go up to St. George. We did actually need to go up there, Nathan had to get the tools and equipment out of Grandma & Grandpa Taylor's garage finally. So we thought it would be a good opportunity to go visit the some friends, and eat at the Pasta Factory while we were there (WELL worth the drive to St. George, I'm just sayin). Anyway, since it was going to be a quick trip, Nicole decided she and Ryiah would go with us. See our plan was to go in the morning and be home by 5. We had a ward party that night that we wanted to be at. The key to those last two sentences is PLAN. Never plan anything. Something will go wrong, and you'll never make it home when you PLAN to.

Let's back track a bit. For a couple weeks, Nathan's truck would make this weird, high pitched noise, not so much a screech, but a noise. It would make the noise for a minute then go away. Also, his brake light was always on, and two weeks ago, his ABS light went on. Not good signs. We had taken it into Tire Works to have the brakes checked and the tires rotated, but they said the brakes were OK but would need to be replaced in the not too distant future. Well, they were actually right. The brakes weren't too bad, it was the hubs, and let me tell you, when the hub barrings go out . . . so does EVERYTHING ELSE!!

As we were just entering Utah, right at the point of entry, there was a HORRIBLE screeching noise, and suddenly, Nate was holding the steering wheel to the right just to make us go straight! Being in the back seat, I could feel the "grinding" that was happening, and luckily Nathan was smart and pull us off the side of the road, quickly. He got out of the truck and there was a HUGE plume of smoke coming out of his drivers side tire. Not happiness. There was no more driving the truck!! So, we called AAA, and my dear friend Evelyn to come rescue us. Poor Makayla was having a melt down. She was so scared!! Nicole and I were laughing and taking pictures. What else do you do? Nathan was over dealing with the truck and Makayla wanted her daddy, so she was with him. Evelyn came and got us girls and kindly let us use her car for the day. We did get the tools picked up, we did get to see the Despains at least & we did get to eat at the pasta Factory. We did not get home by 5, we got home at 10:30, and the trip cost us A WHOLE LOT MORE than we;d had planned. Good thing we had just gotten our tax return, otherwise, Nates truck would still be in St. George & we would be a one car family. We definitely count that timing as a blessing.

Well, here are some pictures to enjoy!

New Beginnings

On February 17th, we had New Beginnings. I was in charge of it and did it as one of my Personal Progress projects. I have been working on it since November. I think it went really well. I had some really good feedback, and there were tears, so I think it was all okay.

The theme was, "Oh the Goals You Can Reach!" The room was set up like an airplane, 2 seats, 3 seats, then 2 seats. The invitations were airplane tickets with seat assignments. I made "in-flight safety instructions" for the program. I had all the leaders dress in black pants and white shirts - like flight attendant uniforms, and got wings from my dad.

I started off by telling everyone to turn off all electronic devises and securely place all carry-ons under their seat. Then a phone went off, and I was asking whose it was, and telling them that the plane would crash because it would interfere with the electrical circuits . . . IT WAS MY PHONE!!! I never have my phone on noise! It's ALWAYS on vibrate, except tonight! I was so embarrassed! They laughed, and I'll probably never get to live that down.

The night started off with the Bishop and all YW leaders singing a song, re-written to "Oh the Thinks You Can Think" from Seussical. I can't upload the video, but here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_wOgT8FBTc Needless to say, they laughed really hard! Then I had all the leaders introduce themselves, and the different YW Classes as well as the value experiences they had completed. The YW then had to get up and talk about the Value Experiences they had completed and how doing that experience made them stronger and have more courage. They did AMAZING! I'm so proud of my girls. Then I gave a talk on PP. Why we do it, reasons to love it and how it helps us in our lives.

I really learned a lot about Personal Progress and myself in doing this project. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and making it fun and creative for all my girls. I really hope they got something out of it, cuz I sure did.

The bishop was the captain of Southern Hills Airlines (that's what I called our flight), which is why he is wearing my dad's captain's hat.

The Laurel, Mia Maid & Beehive statements have changed and here they are. You can't read them, but they are pretty great.

We provided treats and snacks that you would get on an airplane.

This is the table with the balloons in the color of each value: Faith, White; Divine Nature, Blue; Individual Worth, Red; Knowledge, Green; Choice & Accountability, Orange; Good Works, Yellow; Integrity, Purple; Virtue, Gold.

I put together a "trip/destination" wall with all the values listed and a bunch of pictures of life goals that you can achieve because of the different values. Below are a bunch of pictures of the night.

Over all, I think it was pretty well received and hopefully everyone felt the spirit. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do it. I have mixed emotions about it being over, am relieved and saddened. Guess I'll have to start in on something new. ;-)