Does she have to grow up??

My little baby is turning 5 this week. It makes me so sad that she is growing up so fast. She is such a good girl, and definitely makes being a single mom pretty easy. We will be out of town on her birthday, so we had her party on Friday the 1st. Here are a few pictures.

Isn't the cake so cute! A girl that Des works with made it. It turned out so good!

Tae with friends - Kayla, Nicole, Nelly, Caden

Most of the friends - Brynn, Kayla, Nicole, Nelly, Caden, and Ganon. There were a couple more there. They look so happy don't they? ha ha. Must not have been a very fun party.

Isn't she the prettiest girl ever?

For Taelynn's 5th birthday I want to list the 5 reasons I love her most:

She loves to laugh and has the best giggle ever.

I love her beautiful curly hair and big brown eyes.

She loves to go to church.

She is Papa's girl and loves him more than anything.

She is such a sweet girl and I am so glad she is my little girl. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I love you Taelynn!!!

a quick update because I am so so so happy...I've lost 22 pounds! Woo Hoo!!! :)

Easter, Park, Zoo, Temple and Pictures!!

Yeah, it's been a while since Easter, but I just now have a few minutes. So... oh, and this may be long.

Easter was...fun... Des, Ganon, and Adison came over and colored eggs on Saturday before Easter...Adison is a freaking mess. She was sticking her fingers in the dye, then sucking the vinigar water off. YUCK! Then she would take an already dyed egg and toss it in another color. Then throw eggs on the floor...yeah, it was interesting. Oh, then she decided to pee on my floor. Good thing I have wood floors.
Of course it was cold Easter day. After church we had a yummy dinner at my mom's then hid eggs for the kids. Apparently Des has all the pictures from that day. Sorry. It was fun though. Here are a few of Tae in her Easter dress and the Barbie that the Easter Bunny brought her.

Last week I took Tae and her friend Kayla to the park to ride their scooters. Kayla is freaking N-U-T-S! LOL - she seriously has no fear. Too funny. Here are a few pics of the beautiful girls.

Tae pouting because Kayla wouldn't go with her.






Her Grandpa calls her Tornado...it's the perfect name. :)


Now the zoo...I had a couple days off work last week due to system upgrades, so my parent's and I took Taelynn and Ganon to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium in Phoenix. It was pretty cool...but of course I forgot a camera! :( I bought a disposable, but the pictures just aren't good. I think the best part of the zoo was feeding the giraffes! The kids really enjoyed that. The weather was perfect! I think if we had waited any longer it would have been too hot.

The little baby girraffe was so cute...it was trying so hard to reach all the little hands holding out food, but he just couldn't reach. My dad finally got some too him though.
They have some seriously long tongues!

Papa helping Gan.

The rhino was huge! I think that huge metal ball and the logs in front of him are his toys. Crazy!

And last but not least - my mom and I went to the Temple again today. Then we went on to Show Low so I could do Taelynn's birthday shopping. I can't believe my baby will be 5 in 2 weeks! I am going to the valley the weekend of her b-day, so I am having her party next week. So, i'll get pictures of that for sure.

Then, when we got home from show low, mom and I made strawberry jam - and lots of it!! SO yummy!! :)

Alright - I think that's all of the updates and pictures.

Peace!

Updates

Well, I'll start off with a weight loss update. I've lost 14 pounds now! I'm super excited. I feel so much better in so many ways. It's great. I've got a way to go, but I'm trying to just think about it a few pounds at a time.
Tae is doing well. She's so funny. I wish I would remember to write everything down that makes me laugh. She's been asking about her brown skin lately. I've always told her how beautiful her brown skin is, but lately she's been comparing hers to mine. Well, she's also been asking about her dad. So, I told her she got brown skin because her dad's skin is black and when it mixed with my skin, it made hers brown. Well, I don't really think she understood what black skin was, so I found a picture of her dad and pointed out the difference between his color and mine. Well, my mom was watching her later that day and Tae said something about her being half black and half white to my mom. Then she got a little confused and held out her arms and said "Grandma, which half is black, and which half is white?" LOL - oh my goodness, I got a kick out of that when my mom told me. I'm trying to make her aware of things now because I just don't know how kids will react when she gets to school. I think there are enough "mixed" children now that nothing will be said, but I don't want it to catch her off guard.

Another exciting update - I was able to go through the temple yesterday to receive my endowments. It was such an amazing experience. It was overwhelming at times but I can't wait to go again and often so I can understand it better. My mom, Aunt Jennifer and Aunt Marcella went with me. It was so nice to have their support. Jennifer took some pictures that I will try to get on here soon.

OH - and our cat had 3 kittens...anybody want one?????

My Goals

So my mom and I decided that enough is enough and we started going to the Wellness Center at the hospital here. This is our third week there, going at least 3 times a week. It's so much easier with a partner. We walk a mile on the treadmill then lift for 1/2 an hour. Anyway, I have dropped 6 pounds since we started. I'm SO excited. I've got many more to go, but seeing results this quickly is such motivation. Anyway, just wanted to get the word out :) Somehow it makes me feel more responsible and I'll stick to it.
Taelynn gets on my scale at home daily and asks how tall she is. LOL - doesn't matter how many times I tell her that the scale measures her weight not her height...she still asks. She's a crazy kid.

I am SO ready for spring! It's been very warm the past few days. I haven't built a fire in almost two weeks. I am ready for warm weather...but I am DREADING the freaking wind.

That's it for now...Peace :)

For the record...

i HATE Valentines Day. There's nothing quite like hating the fact that i'm STILL single, and having all this love sh*t shoved in my face everytime i walk into a store or turn on the radio or TV. It's depressing, I hate it, and it needs to go away.

it's about that time...

Seriously...has it been a month already since I last posted. WOW...time freakin flies!
Well, not much is going on. Dad, Jace, Des, and I put a roof on my parents house last weekend...that was interesting. :) Lots of hard work...but I'm glad I was able to help.
I went to Phoenix last week for 3 days for training for my job. I have been asking for this training for over 4 years and FINALLY got it. I'm so happy!
Let's see...Tae is doing well. She's a little brat some days, but what 4 year old isn't.
I wish I had something more interesting to tell about...but I don't.
Untill next month....buh-bye. (I'll try to make it sooner than a month)

Ramdon

Well, I'm sitting here at work VERY bored. So here's an update.
Things are going well here. Taelynn is doing good. She's so tall it's crazy. I think she will outgrow me in less than 3 yrs. She is a very girly girl. I NEVER thought I would have a prissy girl because I am so not that way. Very much into pretty hair, and nail polish, eye shadow, and ANYTHING sparkley.
She started her new class in church last week. Before we went I was telling her that she wouldn't have Sister Finch as her teacher anymore. She asked why so I told her that every year she will switch teachers and go with the older class. She got really sad and said "mom, does that mean I'm not a child of God anymore?" LOL - i don't think the move was as bad as she thought it might be. She LOVED Sister Finch, but now Aunt Jennifer is her teacher, so she's o.k. :)

I am doing well. Working WAY too much, but it's got to be done. Hopefully not much longer though.

Well, I think that's about it.