An "Unpictured," LOVE my Life Post

I don't post too often without pictures. In fact, this might be "numero dos" in that department! Just feeling a bit sentimental and wanted to write (something meaningful, and fun to me...NOT a paper, Case Study, or Major Assessment)! I've just returned from my 2nd (and LAST!!!!) residency in MN. Can I just tell you...I do NOT envy people that have to travel for work! I am certainly not one of "those people" that needs a break away from my family! I HATE being away from them, and I'm pretty sure they didn't like it either! My boys were pitiful, and this weekend with them has been good (minus the fact Roger hasn't been off with us!). We've eaten at Sumos, taken a trip to Gamestop, shopped for all their school supplies, and played Just Dance for Kids!!! Logan has played in the rain and taken over my lap (that he barely fits in anymore...sniff, sniff!). Last night I stayed up until midnight watching "Wild Animal Repo" with Austin. I just love that my almost double digit aged child wants to hang out watching tv with me, and he still tells me "I'm glad you're home!" Roger and I talk ALL the time about how lucky and blessed we are!!! You always hear people say how much you have to "work at" relationships to make them work...and, that is just NOT how we see it! We JUST work...it's not hard or complicated, it's not work, it's not even much compromise...I consider ourselves VERY lucky because I don't think it's that way for enough other people. But, it is what I want for both my boys!!!

My family has been enduring me doing A LOT of work over the past year and half, and I couldn't have done as well as I have without their support and help!!! This summer is almost over (gulp!!! so much to do!!!!), and though I don't like seeing summer come to a close, I am just looking forward to December when I finish my degree, and I can go back to JUST being a wife, a mommy, and a teacher! I am already looking forward to next summer...when I can enjoy every minute of it with my boys (all THREE of them!!!). We're sort of beginning a new chapter this year...Roger is going to be transitioning to a DAY SHIFT job (still not exactly sure when), Logan will be at school with me, and I'll be finishing ALL this school stuff!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out how all this good stuff is happening at once!?! Roger has rotated at Michelin since we met over twelve years ago, and I can't wait for him to be home with us EVERY night and EVERY weekend!!!! I am so very excited to have BOTH my boys at school with me this year (better be the only year they are at the same school!)! Not taking him to Mom and Dad's will give me back an hour EVERY morning and OVER an hour EVERY afternoon/evening, as well!!! (Don't worry, Mom, we'll schedule dinners!!!)That gives me back over ten hours of time every week!!! WOW! And, finishing this degree, well, I can't even calculate the hours that will give me back each week (mostly of sleep, work out time, and sitting/cuddling on the couch watching mindless tv shows!)!!!

So, I know this sounds like "Charlie Brown's Teacher" to some of you....but, I wanted to get all my "I LOVE my life and family" thoughts out! My family means the world to me! I love being with them, and I am SO looking forward to our new chapter! The previous chapters have been incredible, and I know the rest will continue to get better!!!!! Stay tuned..... LOTS of things coming up....Austin's 10th b-day (where does the time go!?!), football, 1st day of school, soccer, and just the random things of our life that happen!!!

Carowinds Smilebox

Another photo slideshow by Smilebox

Here's most of what we did in the two days!!! :)

Day 2 @ Carowinds

If you see this crowd.....RUN the other direction! ha ha! Just kidding!!!! Everyone except Grandmother and Pa-paw in this picture!

Austin had to pose at the stateline on our way in (with Caleb)! He thought it was pretty cool to go back and forth between the two states!

Here's Logan attempting to be in BOTH states at the same time! You can see what Austin's thinking...ha!


I still can't get over the weather in JULY!!! It was in the lower 70's all day, off and on drizzle (nothing heavy enough to stop any rides...yay!), and at times chilly enough to give you chill bumps! MUCH better than the scortching hot temperatures we are used to (just three days before we had a heat index of 113!).


This (obviously) isn't one of the bigger rollercoaster but a favorite! No lines meant repeated riding!


The guys took a break from rides while we waited for Austin & Grandmother. Logan was a good shot!



Austin and Grandmother rode "The Cobra" (which turned out not to be one of Austin's favorites). He says the frontward part isn't too bad, but the backward part makes you LITERALLY feel like you are going to fall out.


Our two boys with Grandmother and Pa-paw (in front of Pa-paw's signature ride!)! :)

We all had a really good time!!! MUCH better that a video game or toy! This is going to a trip to remember...afterall, Pa-paw rode a rollercoaster (even bigger than than the last one...WOW!!!!)! Maybe we'll make it a yearly thing and change up the location each year! Thank-you, Grandmother & Pa-paw!!!

(Maybe a Smilebox to follow bc I have LOTS more photos to share!)

A Trip to Carowinds (Day 1)

Instead of getting "regular birthday" presents for the kids, Kathy & George decided to take them all to Carowinds (all of us) for two days! The weather was quite SURPRISING for the middle of July. Day 1 was sunny and warm enough to do the water park, but not so hot it was unbearrable! Perfect weather day!!!! I don't have many pictures from our first Day at Carowinds because we spent the majority of this day at Boomerang Bay, the waterpark. We have never done that waterpark before. There's enough there to do for about half the day (we were in there from about 11:30 until around 5ish), and the boys had a blast! Logan was tall enough to do the lazy river, the green "family" slide, the "pink slide" (which he LOVED!!!!), and a smaller version of one (which he hated because he ripped his toenail off). His FAVORITE part of the day was spent in the LARGE wave pool. Austin, of course, could do it all! He did the BIG, body pipe slide...and was NOT a fan! He said it was "HORRIBLE" and hurt/scratched his back, and banged his head. He and Caleb were the only ones to do that slide, and the quote of the day had to be Caleb when he came off that slide..."It was TERRIBLE!!!! THAT THING IS A DEATH TRAP!"


One thing I like about Carowinds is the way they measure the kids (if you take them over there) for their height, and they put an armband on the kids. This eliminates having to be measured at each ride. You can see Logan trying to stretch out to meet the height he was wanting. We only had one issue with a ride "not complying," but next time we know what to do!



All four Taylor grandkids...Kamy, Caleb, Austin, and Logan...on the way in!


Logan and Pa-paw pausing for a picture with a Snoopy. Logan is really not into "character things" at all (unless it's Power Rangers or Star Wars related). I still think the only reason he stopped to pose for me is because I said, "with Pa-paw!"

When we were done with the waterpark, we went to check in at the hotel, changed clothes, and headed back to Carowinds around 8. In the two hours the park was still open, they actually got to ride LOTS!!! There were practically NO lines at anything! It was wonderful!!!!! The craziest ride of the night was Austin riding the Intimidator with his Uncle Zack (Picture to come soon)! We watched the firework display before heading out and crashing at the hotel! Gotta get ready for Day 2....

A Slideshow with MORE Photos!

Free slideshow created with Smilebox

(There's another post below this with more details/descriptions about Logan's Fake 6 Party!)

Logan, Bogan.....my Doodlebug! You amaze me EVERYday with the things you can do! From the day you were born (the BEST Christmas present ever!!!) we knew you were very different from your brother! Your little brain NEVER stops working! You constantly ask questions and explain things out loud all the time...commercials, shows, games, and even when you are building and playing with your toys! Star Wars has been a HUGE interest for you for about 2 and half years already! You LOVE anything that has to do with Star Wars! You're beginning to like Pokemon and Bakugan some too, but secretly, I think that's just because you know your brother will do those things with you. You are always on the go (your feet never stopped moving throughout your entire baseball season), but you had a wonderful schol year with Mrs. Merri! You have awesome manners (always saying "yes, ma'am/sir," "please," "excuse me...with a giggle", and "thank you"), and you LOVE to cuddle (mostly when you are tired). Every night when it's bed time, you always ask if I can come cuddle with you to watch ONE show! I will miss this all too soon! You are vey strong willed at times, and if Austin does something that makes you mad, you usually let him know pretty quickly (you've been known to say, "I don't care if I'm in trouble, he deserved it!"). You're growing like a weed! The very beginning of June you had me mark on the wall how tall you were, and a month later we stood you beside that very same mark (last week) and already you are over an inch taller! :( You press your "grow button...meeeeep, meeeep,meeep!!!" all the time to tease me and your dad (I'll have to record a video of that to post later!)!!! You are super smart too! I love to watch you count/add things. You do this thing with your fingers and touch your chin, but it works! You can do problems like 9+8 (anything 10+10 and below) and get them right! You can count to over thirty nine by yourself (and can even recognize the numbers in print too. You know the different coins by name AND value(you know the nickel is worth 5 cents bc it's like you, you call the dime a "shrunken Austin" bc it's worth 10). You are very close to reading on your own! You can sound out words when you see them in print, and if you want to write a word, you can sound it out and write it by yourself and get very close to the real spelling! I've probably already posted this at some point, but in May you wrote C-A-T-R-P-L-R (for caterpillar)! Pretty good for a five year old not in kindergarten yet! Which, by the way, is coming very soon! I am SO exctied you'll be at CSE with me and Austin this year (though Gam-ma will have withdrawals, I am SURE!!!)! You swim like a fish (and want to do it ALL the time),and you're even diving in! Your newest accomplishment you love in the pool is your ability to swim towards the bottom of the pool to retrieve things (in the shallow end). You LOVE playing video games with your Dad (Halo Wars and any Lego game he'll play)!!! I joke to you all the time about "stealing him from me!" You still randomly come up to us and say, "I love you!" (with a big squeeze, hug, and cuddle!)...which we love and think is so sweet! Wow...didn't mean to write so much here! Just wanted to write a few of the things you are doing right now! You boys just grow up TOO FAST!!! And, I want to be able to look back and remember it ALL! Love you bunches, Logan!!!!

Logan's 'Fake 6' Birthday

Happy 'Fake 6' Birthday, Logan! :)

Most everyone knows since Logan's REAL birthday is ON Christmas Day (like mine too!), we have his party around his half birthday. It's so much easier on everyone else to be able to come, and it eliminates him getting everything ALL in one day. Christmas and birthdays tend to run together when they are, well, together! This lets him celebrate his birthday and be the STAR totally in the spotlight as you should be on YOUR birthday! Here a few of the "better" shots of the day! I'll post a smilebox in a separate post because there really are just too many pictures to share one at a time! May the Force be with you!!! Ha ha!

Welcome to the "Dark Side!" Here's Logan with a group of his friends!

OH MY WORD!!!! The Merritts hit a GRAND SLAM in Logan's ballpark!!! Mr. Jesse hooked Logan up with a huge box filled with Star Wars "stuff!" Then, later he gave him ANOTHER box FULL of Lego Star Wars stuff! It was too much, really, but it was also AWESOME! Not sure who was smiling more...the Merritts or Logan! Logan (and even Austin) have been playing with all this stuff BUNCHES already!

Logan LOVES any Lego game that comes out! He's been asking for the Pirates of the Carribean Lego since May. He has begged and begged, and I can not even tell you how many times he has emptied his piggy bank out (even grouping his coins into dollar piles to count...he already knows it takes 4 quarters to make a dollar) to see if he has enough of his own money!

What would a Star Wars Party be without some light saber/clone trooper blaster action be!?! They were all running around with something! Watch out!

Austin is trying to get all his plates (I mean, craters) out to work his strategy to cross over! Bree knows what is normally ON the plates, and she's thinking, "WOW! He's going to put a plate down here for me!?!" LOL Sorry, Bree, nothing is on it!

I love the excitement you can see Logan display after his team "won" the game! The other team was at a disadvantage because they had Cara, but of course, everyone got prizes (so no one cared!).

The Fireworks...

With the ground being wet, the guys set everything up in the back of the Tahoe! There were lots of BIG things to shoot off this year! Here are all the guys getting it all ready! I just wish everyone else around here would stop shooting around 10 like us!!! I think the fireworks have just stopped around here! Poor Bree...she hates this night!

Austin is our little pyromaniac! One of the first ones to get a sparkler!And, here's one of my favorite pictures from today! Logan loves doing sparklers! Complete in his Clemson PJs!



Here's a shot of the crowd at our house ready to watch! (minus the "bigger boys" that were closer) Notice, I have set up all the chairs as far back as I could get them!

These are the best I could get (between hiding out...LOL!)! I'm not a huge fan of being close to where fireworks are being shot off. The "unknown" of what they do is a little scary to me. The quote of the night was, "Do you want to live or die!?!" And, yes, I said that to my five year old in a panic. Glad I could make some people laugh!
It was another fun-filled 4th of July spent with family and friends! The kids had a blast!!! Hope everyone else has had a wonderful day as well!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!!! Sometimes it's a good bit of work to get everything ready, but it's all worth it! I love being home for the 4th, and watching my boys have fun trumps all! Here are the pictures from the first part of the day...the rest will have to come tomorrow!

My favorite three guys! Love them to PIECES!!!

The boys with Pa-paw in the pool

The "normal one" for me....

And, for the kids...gotta have a silly shot!

Pretty enough to take a picture of! :) Got the idea from a friend of mine...Thanks, Missy!


Gotta have the Stars & Stripes popsicles from Dairy Queen on the 4th!

The Georgia Aquarium

We could see the Aquarium from the hotel window, and once the boys saw it that became the (for sure) plan for Sunday before driving back home. Apparently, that was the same plan for about 10,000 other people too! It was SUPER crowded, and required lots of patience and waiting to enjoy it. It really is a great aquarium, but if you ever plan on going, I recommend it NOT being a Sunday! (There was still a HUGE line to get in when we were leaving late in the afternoon). They had lots of things that other aquariums don't have, and the exhibits are well spaced out in the various sections they have. The BIG tank with the whale sharks, grouper (HUGE), Giant Manta Rays, and all the other fish/shark was quite impressive! If you are a certified scuba diver, you can even do that there! Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the day...

My boys have learned by now, that there are times when they just HAVE to pose for their Momma! A quick smile helps get it over with more quickly!

Whale Sharks!

Beautiful tanks!!!!

This was OUR view a good part of the day...watching our boys glaring into the tanks!

Sea otters...one of Austins favorite things to watch! These guys were very activeand playful!!! They swam, jumped off the rocks and did little tricks in the water, and even a few tricks with the trainer out of the water!

LOTS of different touch tanks to explore too! Stingrays, horseshoe crab, shrimp, sea urchins, star fish, hermit crabs, etc...

This was one of my favorite parts of the Aquarium! Of course, I love penguins anyway because I teach a unit on them! The really cool thing about this exhibit, is they have a big crawl through space that has different parts to get up close to the penguins in! There's a tube that the penguins swim in all around you, and then at the end before getting out, there are two pop up spots that you can stand and put your head in and the penguin are all right there beside you (it's closed in). Very neat!!!

The Braves Game

Warning, Warning, Warning....this post has lots of pictures because there were just too many to pick only a couple! I like the Smileboxes, but when I print out this blog (one day) I don't think the Smileboxes will print.


We aren't taking a "big" family vacation this year...so, we're trying to do a couple smaller things that are fun, but don't take a huge chunk of time. With me trying to finish up school and get all my hours in for my field experiences there really just isn't much time. We did Clemson the first weekend of summer, and this weekend we went to Atlanta. We went to a Braves game (Logan's first...which we can't believe! We used to go at least once a year!) and to the Georgia Aquarium! We even stayed at our favorite Atlanta hotel, the Westin. It was a much needed mini family vacation, and SO much fun! We got to see David Ross hit a GRAND SLAM (which made them win the game), a really good firework show, and really neat animals at the (overcrowded) aquarium...I'll do a seperate post about that! :) Here's all about our Braves game! It's, for sure, we need to start doing every year, again!


Only in the south...a watermelon seed spitting contest! I should have taken a picture of the mat they had to spit it on because it was cute!

On the way in...

In the stands...watching the game! I love Logan's expressions in most photos! You can tell he doesn't want to stop watching what's going on, and LOTS of times his little eyes are darting to the side!

Logan and his Daddy! :) Logan had LOTS of fun makng noise and cheering the Braves on! He was embarassing Austin a little at one point, and Austin told him not to be so loud....Logan quickly told him, "We're not inside, Austin, so I can use an outside voice!" The lady behind us thought that he was so cute when he said that that she repeated the story to her mom, and then Logan felt like that was permission to keep being loud (smiling, of course!).

Since it was 4th of July weekend, they did a BIG fireworks show after the game! It was pretty good! I felt like I was at Disney!

A quick shot AFTER the game! :)


Here are the boys checking out the "night view" from the hotel windows after getting back from the game! They spotted the Hard Rock Cafe across the street and decided they were hungry...so, we went (yes! After 11 pm!!!)!