Band Concert

Taylor did awesome in his first band concert! I was so surprised at how much the 6th graders have learned in such a short amount of time. To be able to play 4 songs well in less than 2 months of starting an instrument is just beyond my comprehension. It was also fun to hear the older kids and see what potential these kiddos have. My awesome mom was able to magicly recove the pictures of Taylor with his baritone and his fan club that came to watch and support him. Taylor ROCKS!

Ninja for Christmas

Hunter told my sister he was going to be a ninja for Christmas. She said, "You mean for Halloween." Hunter said, "NO! I'm going to be Batman for Halloween. I'm going to be a ninja for Christmas!"

Locks of Love

12 inches!

Chattanooga, TN

Brendan and I spent the week in Chattanooga for TaeKwonDo trainings and World Championships. Brendan tested for his 4th Degree Black Belt!

Notice how Brendan isn't hugging any of the guys that he just finished fighting. I don't know why girls do this, but we do??

Chattanooga is absolutely beautiful. From the top of this mountain you can see 7 different states! We took alot of pictures, but none of them do it any justice.

119 stories below is the largest underground waterfall in the world, Ruby Falls. OOH! AHHH!

We had a nice trip. It was a great opportunity to train with masters and we learned so much. Thank you Mom, Dad, Marcia, Sara, Megan, Trisha, & Christina for taking such good care of our sweet babies while we were gone. They had a great time. Francisco, thanks, Taylor loved the paintball day!

Pumpkin Patch

Megan, Trisha, and I took our kids to the pumpkin patch. We had a great time on the hayride and in the pumpkins. They also had rubber duck races and this really cool tractor made out of hay.

Taylor

Tanner

Hannah

Hunter

Kailey

Mitchell

Trisha and Emma
Me and Kailey

Megan and Collin

Taylor's 12! October 8th

Twelve! Wow! Taylor loves to read, play guitar hero and other video games, and text and talk on his cell phone. He is a third degree black belt in TaeKwonDo and an instructor trainee. Taylor plays the baritone in 6th grade band. His favorite subjects are math and science. He is a 1st class scout and enjoys camping, fishing, hiking, and bike rides. He loves to hear and tell jokes. He thinks the Denver Broncos are complete "awsomeness" and the Texas Longhorns have total "ownage" .

Family is Everything

The Stars at Night...

...are big and bright! Tanner was our star tonight. His theater class had a patriotic performance and he danced to "Deep in the heart of Texas". This is him with his friend Kyle backstage before the show.

Measure wall

At the end of September every year we measure the kids and mark it on the wall in our garage. A tradition we started in 2002. It's so fun to see how much every one's grown this year. Here's the stats:

• Kailey 2 ft 6.5 in - up 6 inches from last year, but it's kinda cheatn' cause she couldn't even stand last year. We just held her up to the wall to mark her.

• Hunter 3 ft 2 in- up 3.25 in

• Hannah 3 ft 6 in- up 2.5 in. What a relief. I was afraid she might be shrinking. She's so petite:)

• Tanner 4 ft 2 in- up 2.5 in.

• Taylor 4 ft 11.5 in- up 4 in. Just 2 more and he'll pass me. We don't need to wait till next Sept for that, he's checking every day. He can't wait for that milestone. At the rate he growing lately, it won't be long.

• Brendan and I are the same height as always. I made him double check because I read that yoga makes you taller and I was sure I've grown with all the yoga I do, but not even a centimeter. Oh well.

Returning the trumpet

Well, after less than 6 weeks, we're returning Taylor's trumpet. So much for dedication...Just kidding. Taylor was chosen to play the baritone. An instrument that is usually only offered to 7th and 8th graders. You have to be in honors classes and get really good grades and have a good ear. We had know it was a possibility that he would be switched after the first semester because his band teacher had told us he was a good candidate. But they said they just couldn't wait that long when there was this much potential. Only 2 out of 36 trumpet players were chosen. They said he has a gifted ear. Must get it from his dad.

Hey, Why do they call it a BLOG instead of a BRAG??