cabin

We went up to the Taylor cabin on Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa and our friend Gabe. It was great to get up into the mountains. There are few places as lovely as the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I love the sound of the wind way up in the tops of the trees and I love the smell of the warm sunshine, the cool shade and the pine trees. I realize that sunshine itself doesn't really have a smell, but it does when it warms what it is shining on. I'm not sure how to describe it, but there is a smell of sunshine in the mountains. If you've been there, you know what I mean. Or maybe I'm just strange.

We were supposed to go up Friday night, but I pulled my typical trying-to-do-too-much-in-one-day act and didn't get up to Brian's parents' house until after eight, forgetting to pick up Gabe on the way. So Brian bathed the girls while I went back down to Placerville to pick up Gabe and then we ate ice cream, played with Benjamin's Wii and spent the night on the extremely comfortable tempurpedic mattress in the downstairs bedroom instead of driving up to the cabin. It ended up for the best as the boys got to the cabin first in the morning and could dispose of anything they might have or might not have found lurking in the cabin after the long winter before Grandma and I got there with the girls.

Cumorah had a blast playing in the dirt, climbing rocks, swimming in Gerle Creek resevoir and going on the paddle boat with Daddy. She is very intelligent. She remembers her snow angel making skills from her experiences with an Iowa winter and applied it to a Sierra Nevada Summer: she made dirt angels. I watched her as she literally rolled in the dirt and rubbed her eyes blinking at the specks she got in them. She looked like she was in camoflage (if her shirt wasn't bright pink) with her face all smudged up like that laying on her stomach in the dirt. She put her hands in her mouth after sifting pebbles out of the dirt. Then she looked at me while she gingerly bit her teeth together over and over. I could just feel the grit in my own teeth watching her like that.







































We went to Gerle Creek to wash off. The water was COLD, but it was still really fun to swim in. I like swimming. Brian likes to float on top of the water in various contraptions. He just doesn't want to admit that I'm a better swimmer and could beat him in a race. The swim teacher in me came out and Cumorah had to practice kicking. By the time she was finished with all her swimming and boat riding, her lips were turning purple and she was stripped down and held against her daddy's chest wrapped in a towel until she warmed up. Fishy crackers and a couple containers of mandarin oranges helped as well. Rivers didn't do any swimming. She only did nursing and sleeping in her netting covered car seat carrier. Gabe got on his intertube and floated away. Brian had to go get him with the paddle boat when it was time to go.

We had dinner at the cabin, courtesy of Grandma. Cumorah fussed about eating and then suddenly ate an entire chicken breast. She doesn't usually eat meat. After dinner, Cumorah was put in her third set of clothes for the day (minus the pants, must have forgotten them) and her super cute poncho hand-me-down from my friend Sarah Jones' girls (they've got cute clothes). Both girls were finally loaded in the car to sleep on the way home. Cumorah and Rivers were definitely dirty, Cumorah being the one responsible for dirtying both. Fortunately we decided to visit our old ward on Sunday instead of either one of our parents' so we had time to give them a bath in the morning before going to church. All in all, it was a beautiful fun day. Your typical Taylor Family vacation, complete with a couple broken down cars.:)

busy day

Yesterday, Cumorah and Sam played all day. It started in the morning after breakfast and before Cumorah was out of jammies. Sam came to play while his mom exercised in the work-out room as we call it. They sat in a box of printer cartridges in the office and grandmommy gave them crayons to color with because it looked like they were at a desk. Every once in a while Sam would lift up the box flap and Cumorah would push it back down in an annoyed way. Sam would smile and have a little low chuckle and do it again. I think he liked pushing Cumorah's button.


Soon after Cumorah got dressed, they somehow both ended up outside on the back deck and then the next time we turned around they were in the pool. So much for getting dressed. We let them play and laughed at them. I did draw the line at drinking the slimy water with bug floaties, but in reality my objections didn't do a whole lot to hinder their determination to play a fun game of slurping while hydrating their little bodies. They were having so much fun. I love the freedom of childhood. As much as I might love the idea of jumping in a pool with my clothes on, I think I'm too old to seriously enjoy it. What a pity. That really does make me sad. It means I'm all grown up. And even if I did want to join them, it isn't socially appropriate for me to strip my clothes off at the back door leaving them outside to dry and then sit at the kitchen table in my underwear to eat my mac'n'cheese. Those were the days. I'm glad I can give my daughters these childhood memories, they'll grow up soon enough.


























Cumorah took a nap at Sam's house while I went to run some errands with Grandmommy and Rivers. We didn't get back until 5 o'clock, so Cumorah got to play a couple more hours at the super fun toy-filled farm house after her nap. Rivers and I joined them when we got home and we all had dinner together, the daddies eventually joining us when they finally got home from work.

After dinner we (Brian, myself and the girls) went for a walk. We ended up on a cow trail that switchbacked down to the creek below Great Grandma and Grandpa's end of the house. It got pretty steep towards the end which made me really nervous with Rivers strapped to my tummy, but after whining a little Brian helped me and we all made it down just fine. Just to clarify, I was the one whining. Not Brian. Brian was more like, "Woman! Suck it up and get your booty down here!" Cumorah threw rocks in the trickling pools of water, picked up hunks of cow chips, walked through thistles, and otherwise thoroughly enjoyed herself. The creek is surrounded by a thin grove of trees and other green things growing. It was cool and smelled of mint and blackberry plants. It brought back feel-good childhood memories. Going back up didn't make me so nervous, it was just a buns of steel nightmare. Brian was holding Cumorah who was very indignant. She wanted to walk by herself so that she could throw rocks down the steep incline and then throw herself down as well. They had to play a stop and wait, then run to get mommy game in order to keep her distracted and happy. We'll have to do it again and bring the camera so I can post pictures.

sisters tea

Grandmommy taught Cumorah how to pour and drink imaginary tea (sound effects included). So now she likes to have tea parties in which she forces her victims to drink more tea than one could possibly stomach all in a short amount of time. On Sunday when we were at Grandma Taylor's she found a tea cup in the play kitchen and she and Rivers had their first ever Sisters Tea Party. Actually, as uncomfortable as it looks for her, Rivers really enjoyed it. She was smiling and trying to suck on the cup. See, they're playing well together already.


I got in on a little of the tea drinking, too.

father's month?

So, it's still June. Right? I figure it's still kind of "Father's Month", so it's OK to post our father's day pictures a week and a half late. We do really appreciate our daddy in this family. He's Cumorah's favorite person in the world and Rivers will smile at him on occasion. I happen to like him a lot. Not only is he tall, dark and handsome and all that kind of stuff, but he's a really good daddy and I am so lucky.

On Father's Day Cumorah gave Brian a card and an assortment of cookies that she had helped (sort of) make. He got another father's day present, but it is something he's working on ordering. I guess that means it was a sort of "permission to buy" father's day present. And, surprise!surprise!, it is something to do with the camera. Cumorah gave cookies to all the grandpas and great grandpas and uncles as well. We had dinner at Brian's grandparents house with his family, Nannie, and Uncle Kenny and Aunt Rachel. Delicious food. Thanks Grandma! And great company.


What a handsome daddy!
What beautiful little girls!







Here's me and the girls with Grandma Taylor. And here is Uncle SUPER Benjamin.









Cumorah loved playing outside on the deck with Brian's cousin's daughter Mackenzie. Is that her second cousin? They ran back and forth with Toby the dog following them. Cumorah takes a while to be brave about the dogs when we go visit Great Grandma and Grandpa.



We went to church with the Hulbert Fam in the morning before we headed up the hill to have dinner with the Taylor Fam. The speakers in Sacrament meeting were three of the four generation Hulbert men in this picture. Of course, this pic was taken a year and a half ago so Sam is a little bit bigger, but not big enough to speak in church yet. It was really wonderful to see my grandpa (Grandpa is my favorite), my dad and my big brother sitting together in their dark suits. It was even more wonderful to hear them speak. Family is a wonderful thing. My brother got me teary eyed a couple of times as I could relate very much to what he said about his assigned topic "things my father taught me".






Grandpa looked at an "I Spy" book with Pearl, Sam and Cumorah. They were loving pointing out all the objects Grandpa asked if they could find. Too fun.





Uncle Alan, Aunt Vickie and my cousin Joseph, his wife Erin and their daughter Brooke came to my parent's house for dinner. Brian and I were able to see them a little before they had to leave. The kids all had a bath together. Good times.

triple digits

This morning Brian helped my brother Jared paint the new addition to the little yellow farmhouse. He went out there at 6:30am and said it was already at least 85 degrees. It's a hot one today, but not the hottest it will be. So I got Cumorah in her swimming suit and slathered her up with 5o+ SPF. She went with Grandmommy over to the little yellow farmhouse and got her cousins Sam and Pearl. Then they all hopped in the tiny little inflatable pool for only about a half hour. It was too hot already by 10 o'clock to stay out there on the deck, not to mention the fact that Sam and Cumorah are very very fair. Rivers and I sat in the shade of an umbrella, Rivers in nothing but her diaper.


Following up swimming with a popsicle. Cumorah spilled the last half of hers all over her lap and then she took Sam's. She's not always as well behaved as one would hope. I do my best. She was made to give Sam back his popsicle.

Fortunately for Cumorah, Sam is a very easy going happy kind of guy. They actually get along very well and love to play. They had a major crash after lunch though. We're not exactly sure what happened but we definitely saw (and heard) the aftermath. Sam has a bump to the side of his eye. Cumorah had to be pulled up off the coat rack and has a straight line of bruise on the back of her arm. We think they must have been running around the corner from different directions, and they collided.

been a while

Well...
It's been a while. Lots of exciting adventures. I have lots of pictures I want to post, but I thought I'd at least post some of Rivers at 6 weeks old. She's growing so fast. She is such a good baby. I usually just take it for granted actually, but when I stop to think about it I always think, "Are you for real?" She gives me plenty of time for sleep (if only I would take advantage of it) and she's hardly ever fussy. Cumorah loves to give her kisses and has tried to pick her up a few times. The ceiling fan is Rivers' best friend. She likes to spend quality time with it while she's laying on the bed and looking up. She smiles and coos and kicks her feet with happiness.

Isn't the quilt she's laying on fabulous? It is her Luan Zenk Original quilt. Amazing. I had the amazing privilige of going to Luan's house and choosing out of 50 or so quilts. So hard. It took an hour just to look at them all once and then it took about five rounds to finally decide on "the one". This is definitely Rivers' quilt. So beautiful. I am so honored to be Luan's friend and I feel so special that she would give me such an amazing gift. My wedding quilt was made by Luan and Cumorah's quilt was partially made by my Great Grandmother, but finished and quilted by Luan. She is a talented woman.