Bloggin' in Bulk

I apologize to anyone who even looks like this anymore for not updating in a while. I'll try to be good about it from here on out. Wait, maybe I'll go for better, not good.

We went to my parents' house for Christmas!! It was SO much fun!

Look out ladies! Ross is home from his mission as of Dec. 24th.

I love Ross! I'm pumped he's home.

At the airport.

Ross and Mo.

Does anyone notice anything different about me? Okay I'll tell ya. Earrings! I was allergic to metal my whole life. I must have outgrown it! I've worn the beautiful jewelry my daughters give me from time and time and, yay, no rash. I got my ears pierced in October without any problems and got earrings for Christmas for the first time ever. It's been fun.

My sweet Dad and sweet Lilly

Tagg and Taden. Don't they look like trouble?

Payte and Mo

The kids had a blast with their uncles.

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Mom, Maranda, Lilly, and Tay

The kids AdOrE my mom. She is the BEST! She's so imaginative and fun. She gets a hotel room for the herself and the kids when we come. They love it.

The holidays took their toll on Dak and Tagg. Too much partying I suppose.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Reese's cousin Katherine and her GORGEOUS family came to Florida for the long weekend. I'm SO glad they came. They were tons of fun to be around and made easy house guests. And guess what?! There was frost on the ground Thanksgiving morning. I soak in every cloudy, cold day we get.

We went canoeing on The Little Manattee River near Mom and Dad's. So fun.

Mom, Payte, Dak and Dad

Tagg HATES boating. I think he really just hates wearing a life jacket. I managed to get a smile out of him.

Tay and Noelle getting comfortable

Big Cats and Little Kats

I said "Little Kats" because Tay's first name is Kathleen and she is SUPER little (for her age).

Tay's birthday was on November 7th. She was lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents there. She's seven going on 30. Her interests and tastes are way beyond her years.

Here is a list of things she wanted for her birthday.

1. Homemade chicken noodle soup

2. A Precious Moments figurine

3. An abacus

4. A subtraction book

Tay loves to write, read and play the piano, which she will choose to do over playing with other kids. I learn A LOT from her example. She always wants to do the right thing and is super disciplined. We challenged Tay to read the Book of Mormon by herself before her baptism in November. She's on track and honestly loves it.

I need to watch myself! For her, doing the right thing means doing what Mom does. In November the kids voted in school. She, not knowing anything about either candidate (my fault) voted for Obama, like everyone else. Of course, Payte voted for Obama because his name sounded cooler.

She had an "I VOTED!" sticker on her shirt when she got home from school. I asked, "Who'd ya vote for?" She proudly said, "Obama! Are you voting for him too?"

"Probably not," was my response.

She immediately broke down. She thought she had done something terrible. In vain tried to explain that everything was okay. On the real election day she tried in desperation to get me to change my vote. She fumed all the way to the bus and wouldn't hug, much less look at me as she stormed on.

I love that girl so much!

Reese's old boss Abilio took us to Big Cat Rescue. It's a reserve for all kinds of exotic cats that have been rescued from people's attempts at turning them into domestic pets. We were able to walk around the cages and with the cats in close proximity. They had all kinds of cats; lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars, leopards. You name it they had it.

Has anyone ever seen or heard of Christian and Lion? He's on youtube. He was a domesticated lion who was set free in Africa. He had a joyful reunion with his owners some time later. I kept thinking of that while we were at this park. Christian the Lion is the antithesis of what this park is all about.

Pajama Day?????

Tay, Payte, Dak, and Tagg in their NY nightshirts.

I LOVE these kids!

Well, yesterday was pajama day at school . . . allegedly. I don't know what might have been going on in our minds to simply rely on Payte's loose recollection that yesterday was the day. We have certainly been around with her long enough that it should have occurred to us to verify her info - not to mention the fact that Tay did not remember it the way Payte did . . . and frankly when Tay tells us something, you can bet on it. Nonetheless, we blindly moved ahead with full faith in Payte. As you can imagine, upon mounting the bus it didn't take long for them to notice that strangely they were the only ones participating in the pajama party. Upon arrival at school, it was clear that there was no pajama party. That's when the fun begins. Tay was mortified. She had a cute little pair of blue bottoms with a little blue top and her pink robe. It wasn't long before she was in tears and completely embarrassed. They took her to the office to see what they could do. They eventually found some clothes in the lost and found that they gave her - of course there was nothing close to small enough but with a few rolls to cuffs it would do, and she actually felt pretty cool in her new-found duds, especially when they said she could keep them.

Meanwhile, across the building in the Kindergarten, Payte's experience was unfolding as one might expect. For her, the pajama party was certain to go on. She couldn't have cared less that she was the lone kid in PJ's, in fact she was feelin' pretty good that while all the others had to wear their uniforms, she was chillin out in her PJ's - the fact that they were bright green flannel pants and a loud Christmas tee with a big dog in a Santa hat simply didn't phase her. With her confidence I'm sure that her class envied rather than teased . . . kind of like Tom Sawyer and whitewashing of the fence. That's ol' Payte for you.

I am constantly in awe at how different two kids from the same chromosomes can be. Tay a strict rule follower, proper in every way and determined to be perfect. The only day she got an average grade she could hardly bear to go back to school the next day she was so upset. At the same time, she's tender and maternal, a real care-giver; loves to help others. Payte is not completely oblivious to rules, she just isn't sure she's not here to simply have a good time, and any rules should take that overall goal into consideration. I don't know what it would take to embarrass her. She takes life as it comes, not trying to be anybody's hero, and is totally at peace. What a pair. The amazing part is that they can play together peacefully for hours; Tay running the show, Payte just happy to be there and let Tay do it.

Thought I'd throw this in. They love to play in the rain when it's not thundering.

!!!!!!!!!!!CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tay was sent to time out the other day. She frequents the dreaded purple room a lot less than the other children. But, sometimes the wrong buttons get pushed and she gets worked up beyond a point of no return. It's at this time that she becomes absolutely hysterical. It is utterly impossible to talk or reason with her. She's an absolute MADwoman!

Anyway, I let her calm down and went in to talk to her. She had barricaded herself in the couch with pillows and posted the following sign.

I wouldn't want to talk to me either after an episode like that.

Virginia............Home Sweet Home.

Reese and I took the girls up to Virginia two weeks ago for SVU's homecoming. It's where we met (awwwwwhhhhh). I LOVE this place. I've been saying that about various different locations lately. If it's not Florida, I love it. But really, it is a wonderful place to go to school. We caught up with old friends that feel like family to us.

This is Main Hall. Isn't it beautiful! I lived in this building when I was there. The fall in this town is spectacular! The rolling hills and mountains are covered in colors of yellow, red and orange.

Reese played in the annual alumni soccer game. These guys are getting OLD! They could barely walk by the end of the game.

This is Tay with Jessica and Jennifer Brotherson. I babysat these two when I was in college. They babysat my two while we were there. The Brotherson's are a super amazing family. We love and respect them so much. And wow, I must say it was so easy to just have the girls with us. I started getting everyone ready for church at my usual time and ended up with an hour to spare!

Chula! Chula!

Meet the newest member of our family, Miss Tigress Chula Reynolds. Tay (Kathleen Tay) named her. She didn't want to be the only one in the family who goes by their middle name.

We promised Tay a dog when we got back from our Seattle trip. I was NOT really looking forward to getting one. I've always liked the IdEa of having my kids grow up with a dog, but wasn't willing, until now, to let it become a ReAliTy. This change of heart towards pets might shock those who knew me when I was young. I LOVED dogs; not so much anymore.
Anyway, we went to the humane society two weeks ago to scope things out. We immediately fell in love with a six month old, brindle colored retriever/who knows what else mix. She's great! She is playful, affectionate, and relatively obedient. The kids love her and I can honestly say I'm excited to have her in the family. She'll be a GREAT lifelong addition.