new 'do

jill and camille thought it was a good idea to take

scissors to their lovely long locks.

sometimes good ideas end up bad.

it was a hack job from front to back on both.

thankfully, not bad enough to be fixed.

they love their new hair.

i'm just not sure if the lesson was learned when they ended up

looking so cute...



The cake was right

Labor Day

we headed to the Salt River for some relief from the heat.

the girls had a great time and can't wait to go back to the "beach".

we ended up on the evening news.

a quick action cameo of jeff and camille @ 1:06

and the whole lot of us @ 1:20

 

http://www.azfamily.com/video/?id=129274888&sec=528732

 

did you know?

i'm 19 weeks pregnant.

my sister-in-law sarah is a "gender predictor" cakemaker extraordinaire.

the cake says boy.

on Wednesday we will see if the cake was right.

growing up.

growing up can be tough sometimes.

i celebrated my birthday on the 21st.

i have more wrinkles and my metabolism is slowing.

despite these i actually feel very excited to be here and now.

jeff and the girls made me a yummy cake,

and since my lung capacity is probably diminishing too

i got some help blowing out all 29 candles.

the girls are hitting milestones.

jillian started official pre-school.

she was ecstatic.

she even gets to be in class with her cousin chloe.

this is the face of "growing pain" that camille had driving away

from jills school the first and second day.

poor girls is still having a tough time.

each pre-school day she asks if she gets to stay with jill "this time".

she even started going under the water while swimming by herself

and not crying. she popped up and said, "see mom, i'm a big girl

now like jilli. i get to go to jilli's school now".

sisters are so much better together.

track-stars

We like to exercise in this home.

We encourage the children to follow suit.

Earlier this year they had the opportunity to show off some skills.

A near-by town hosted a mini-Olympics.

It started with a warm-up and stretching.

Next was the running of the torch.

Jill thought the races had begun and left everyone in the dust.

Then the events began.

They did long jump, javelin throw, shot put, obstacle course,

and of-course the 60 meter dash.

The girls did great a had a great time.

In other running news:

We like to participate in a few fundraising runs each year.

Here's a re-cap:

Two-Sisters One Heart Run

Pat's Run:

early morning pre-run chill and anticipation

post-run heat with the group

This event is HUGE!

The Taylor's have made it a tradition.

We've participate a few of the years and it grows bigger each time.

The first year we ran it there was one heat, one start time.

This year there was over 20 heats placed by estimated run pace.

It was wild, the amount of people there.

It's 4.2 miles around Tempe Lakes and ASU.

I'm not sure if it was the hype in the air or what but I ran faster than I ever have.

I did the 4.2 miles in 39 minutes and felt like I could have gone faster.

It's still not that great of time, but an accomplishment for a sprinter.

Jeff did great as usual at 35:26.

Petersons 2011

We just returned from a great get-away to the mountains of Utah.

We played with cousins.

Jill had the time of her life at 7-Peaks, a water resort.

I can honestly say I love and enjoy each of these people.

Lucky to have such a great family.

Turning 3 in this house

We are a proud pacifier-using household. From 0-2 it's pretty much at the beacon

call of the babe. From 2-3 it's only available when the toddler is lying down. The day of the 3rd birthday, the pacifier goes in the trash. The prep of the toddler for this day begins weeks ahead of time.

It includes much reassurance and perhaps a few, "if you want a birthday party, you have to throw it away" phrases.  Jillian did well with just a few tears for a couple of nights. Camille's was much smoother.  With the moral support of Jillian, Camille didn't (and has yet to) shed a tear over the loss of her paci.  Siblings are the best.

 

(birthday before deed)

 

(after deed)



Camille earned her party. We had friends and family come by. With a bounce house, slip n' slide, water balloons, trampoline, and x-box kinect all who came was entertained. Of-course we launch the traditional birthday balloons.

A few days later we celebrated Jeff's birthday early as we were headed to Hawaii.

More on that later.



Headed to preschool

(back in May) Jill and Camille made it through joy school with flying colors.

They both memorized The Pledge of Allegiance.

Jill will be starting offical preschool next month.

Not sure how Camille is going to cope not having sister around.

They are joined at the hip.

easedropping

We found ants in the bathroom this morning. I vaccumed up most of them and then the girls brought in a shoe to "pop" any lingering ants. This is what I heard:

Camille:  Heavenly Father?

Jillian:    He hears you. Say what you have to say.

Camille:  Sorry we have to pop the ants.

Jillian:    It's okay, He knows they shouldn't be in the house.

yesterday,

seven years ago was the greatest party of my life.

CAMILLE!

This little treasure turned three today.

Camille is the class clown around here.

Always looking for a laugh.

Even at inopportune times.

She has lips to kill, and isn't afraid of handing out kisses.

She is incredibly sensitive, and sweet;

never wanting to hurt feelings.

She loves animals and playing princess.

Above all else she loves her sister and wants to be around her all the time.

We are blessed to have this one in our lives.

Mother's Day 2011

The flowers are in bloom.

The garden is growing.

The chicks are roaming.

I get goodies at church.

Best of all, I get to celebrate my two wonderful mothers,

and reflect on the last 5 years of being a mother.

This is the best time of my life.

Easter 2011

Easter came and brought two little chicks.

Jill named hers Chickee-chick, (is now calling her Sleepy Head).

Camille named hers Sunny.

We are excited to embark on pet ownership again.

This time with half the amount of last.

The head-dress and Easter dresses were a hit with the girls.

On Saturday we dyed eggs,

and then headed to the temple for the pageant.

We arrived 2.5 hours early to secure seats for the family.

The ushers were very persistent that there was NO SAVING SEATS.

After the third usher physically picked up all my

blankets and moved them I decided to abide.

Me and my girls found three front row seats.

We spent the time awaiting the pageant, exploring the temple grounds.

The girls were very concerned for Jesus during the pageant.

Jill even about cried.

Camille did actually cry, but because she lost a pacifier.

Good times.