Awards!

This past week we have enjoyed recognizing Elise and Kylie.

Kylie recently received a second place award for her short story entry...there were over 300 entries....we were very proud of her! We enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa Taylor with us at the awards ceremony.

Elise was recognized as a USCA Scholar this past weekend...and received, among other things, this cool tshirt :) Elise is pondering the option of attending USCA for a year or two before going to BYU. We think that would be super to have her with us a bit longer!!!....she is, after all, only going to be 16 when she graduates from high school. Also, of note, Elise has already received acceptance (without even applying, mind you) to Clemson University, so she has options :) Her 1st choice, of course, is BYU...GO COUGARS!!!

Spring Break at Hunting Island April 2009

We had a fabulous time camping at Hunting Island during spring break! The weather was perfect....cool breezes with lots of warm sunshine. We enjoyed a night exploration on the beach under a large, bright moon, observed raccoons in the bushes, and then woke up in the morning to discover two deer had been sleeping right next to our tents! We had fun using our dutch ovens to make breakfast...and thoroughly enjoyed the beach!

Brenden buried some of the kids in the sand :) Our happy Ammon boy! So photogenic :)
Brooke absolutely loved the beach....sand, water and all! We are hoping to make it back later in the summer to observe the turtles...mommies and babies!

Our Baby is 1!

We celebrated Brooke's 1st birthday today! (We had angel food cake with real whipped cream and super yummy strawberries!!!) I've always considered the first birthday to be a major milestone...for both the baby and the parents :) It feels good to reach the one year mark, yet my heart still aches as I watch her struggle to learn to use her hands, to sit up, to roll over, to crawl, etc. Still, she is a fighter and continues to make progress, and for that we are so grateful. While the seizures she experienced at birth and/or the medication she is currently taking to prevent further seizures seem to really have an affect on her motor skills, her smiles abound. She is truly a blessing in our life. We love her soooo much! (As you can see below...she gets lots of kisses!)

"Crafting it Forward"

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! This offer does have some limitations:
1. You will not know what it's going to be, and there are no guarantees that you will like what I make! It may be something simple and small or I may go crazy and do something amazing.
2. It’ll be done this year. Translation: you may be waiting a little while.
3. Most importantly, you must offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!
Ok...so, I'm doing this "x2"....because I commented on my sister's and my sister-in-law's blogs...so the question is....will 10 people really comment on my blog? :)

This is GREAT!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1099849580145

Validation Video

If you haven't seen the video above, you should watch it...and remember YOU ARE AWESOME!!! :)

Brenden and Elise participated in a bi-stake trek this year. They had a wonderful experience...maybe I'll get them to post more details about it. In the meantime, here's some photos...the first is the morning they left for the trek. The following two are the photos taken on the "home stretch" as we greeted them at the "end of their journey". What fun!

No, Ammon didn't go on the trek...but he was so excited to see Brenden, that he ran up to Brenden as he was approaching and Brenden gave him a high five and then picked him up and carried him the rest of the way back....so sweet.