Off to a good start

2015 has gotten off to a good start for the Taylor Crew! Looking forward to all the things this year will hold!

A little shopping fun at Sam's. The boys love shopping here. Why?? For Icees and pretzels, of course! I love the jumbo buggies!

Ahh, love them!

Clara LOVES her new "It's a Small World" tub toy from Aunt Lia and Uncle Caleb. Stitch seems to be her favorite...I think it's the ears ;-) My girl throws down when it's time to stop playing and get out. 

A real superhero is never without his weapons. I feel very safe at all times!

Little Miss

Clara is now 11 months old, and she has decided to add many new things to her list of tricks! She has her first little tooth peeking out on the bottom, discovered how to open cabinets and loves to take things out, she has taken a few little steps, and tries to mimic more sounds and words. She is an incredibly fast crawler! She's out of sight in a second and puts the tiniest things in her mouth, and her brothers' toys! She loves to crawl in my lap to read books. Mac really enjoys "reading" books to her too. She ADORES baby dolls, like really, really loves them. Which makes me so happy since I'm a huge doll fanatic and collector! Mine will soon be making an appearance from the attic ;-) She's still not a super sleeper, but the past two weeks she has mostly slept all night. I'm hoping this trend will stick this time!! She also loves snacks of Baby Goldfish and Cheerios. And pretty much devours almost any food I give her. She is the happiest little thing ever! Love her!!

She figured it out! She loves to empty cabinets and boxes. Time for child-proof cabinet locks!

Loving snack time. 

The cutest laundry helper I could ask for!

She likes to hide under her exersaucer much more than she likes actually sitting in it :-)

This is Clara's favorite doll. CeCe gave it to her for Christmas, and it has been in her hand pretty much ever since she got it. When I walk in her room after she's been asleep, she's got her baby in her hand and carries her out of the crib with her. She also likes to give her baby hugs and kisses. Love it!

2014, A Year I'll Always Remember...

As 2014 has come and gone, I've thought about all that transpired over the course of this year...

We welcomed this precious beauty in January, moved from Missouri in February, finally moved into a house in Columbus in April and had many, many new experiences and memories that come with a new baby, new town, new church, new friends, etc. Some days were fun and great. Others were trying and difficult. But overall it was another great year that the Lord blessed our family with. He is always faithful, constant, merciful, and trustworthy-of that I am so grateful!

I will also always remember 2014 as the year that we lost my beloved grandfather, Papa. He so deeply loved my grandmother and his family, his country, traveling, and having a good time everywhere he went. I am so incredibly thankful for a lifetime of memories that I have with him, as he loved his grandchildren dearly. Papa loved to vacation, eat yummy food, and laugh. I love his smile and laugh and thinking of it today makes me smile :-) What a blessing that he was able to be a part of even his great-grandchildren's lives. I am really going to miss him...but I am so grateful for the legacy he established and that continues to live on. 

I LOVE this man

Papa was always up for a good time and went along with all our crazy antics and bright ideas...usually ;-)

This was in March with all of the great-grandchildren. He went to be with The Lord in July. See, having fun and celebrating a party was always on the agenda!

So thankful for The Lord's promise of eternal life for those who believe in Him and especially thankful this means we will meet again someday...

Disney Magic

We had another AMAZING opportunity to go to Disney World in October.  I mean, who's really lucky enough to have a sister that lives and works there?? Me!!! Lia and Caleb were incredibly gracious and hospitable and welcomed the Taylor Crew plus mom for a week FILLED with magic.

My boys constantly ask when we can return to Disney. We waited until the day we left to tell them, mostly because I didn't want to answer "Is it the day to go?" a million times! They were beside themselves and ready to arrive. (Mac was cautiously excited at first because he thought we'd be making the twenty-ish hour drive like we did from our previous trip leaving from Missouri. Once he realized Mississippi was way closer, he was ALL in!)

After each trip we return with hundreds and hundreds of great pictures, and the task of picking some for the blog seems overwhelming. In fact, several past trips didn't even get more than one picture because it's sooo many pictures. But I decided to help narrow it down, I'd stick to using just the 300+ pics on our phones. This may get obnoxious...sorry, it was LOTS of fun!!

Walkin' Right Down The Middle Of Main Street U.S.A.

Loving on this talking Mickey. Yes, I just said TALKING! Eek! How cool?!?!

We all LOVE Aunt Lia, and not just because she makes Disney magic and giant Dole Whips happen! haha

Uncle Caleb is the BEST!!! He loves to play with our kids and is a mean man behind a camera lens! Thankful he's part of the Singleton Clan.

Our Minion family...how fun?!?!

For the first time in forever (now sing all the other Frozen songs while you're at it), we crossed to the dark side and visited Universal Studios. Why, you ask? Because Lia is an awesome fun dancer in the parade with Dora the Explorer! It was such a neat experience to see her at work, and we had a fun day at the park. It's not magical, but it was fun :-) Sam was especially excited because it was his first visit to Universal and he enjoys crazy thrill rides. He and Caleb (and on occasion Mac) did all the crazy rides, while the rest of us found the more kid-friendly things to do. Clara especially loved the flower in the parade, and we got lots of extra attention from them.

Jessica's shirts from our last trip made a repeat appearance on this one. They get lots of compliments and people asking where we found them. Perk of a crafty sister!

Mac currently has a mild obsession with Star Wars, which of course stemmed from his love of Angry Birds and the Star Wars edition. He decided that he definitely wanted to train to be a Jedi. So we did what every crazy parent does...arrive before the gates open and high tail it to the back of the park to register for the training before all the spots are filled. He was all fired up about it, and we just kept encouraging him until it was his showtime.

When his show started, he was doing so great and taking it all so seriously. Like, it was very real for him. All was good...until, Darth Vader appeared, the Master said to "deactivate" your light saber, Mac didn't hear the instruction, he rushed Darth Vader to fight him, the attendant swiped his "slinger" to deactivate it and led him to the spot where the others were gathered and waiting for their turn to "defeat" Darth.  Well, all Mac knew was the enemy just showed up and he was left with no weapon...and Darth Vader was still there! He freaked!! He came down off the stage before his one on one time, but I was still so surprised and proud that he participated at all. He ended up being very proud of himself that he was a "real Jedi" and went after Darth Vader, even if only for a moment.  We even have a certificate to prove it ;-)  He's anxiously awaiting his chance to return and really defeat Darth Vader.  He's been practicing his Jedi moves and teaching Drew. haha

Mac and his "slinger" Yes, we know it's called a light saber. He knows it's called a light saber. But for some reason he chooses slinger. Slinger it is!

With Mickey at "Epcotch" as Drew called it.

They really loved all the characters, and Drew especially loved hugging them.

Superhero Day!!!

The Two Flashes

Look at those Minnie Ears!!!

Clara and Belle were love at first sight. Lia was ecstatic, to say the least ;-) Clara really loves baby dolls, and she truly was especially drawn to Belle's face. Belle came home with us!

The boys LOVE this ride. Both of them were tall enough to do almost everything this trip. Mac is a little dare devil and wanted to try everything...kinda surprising if you know my caution firstborn!

We got a family pic with the hat before it's gone forever!

CeCe was a tremendous help with Clara all week!

More lovin'

The boys are just entering the Lego phase and love, so they had a really, really good time at the Lego Store at Downtown Disney. Mac's pick of Legos?? You guessed it, Star Wars!

Maroon Friday!!

One of Drew's favorite rides was the Figment ride at Epcot.  However, he was not a fan of the "tinky kunk" part. He'd say, "What's that tinky mell?? A tinky kunk?" I love my little boy who is still working on his "s" blends. :-)

Hulk is pretty much obsessed with Superman

Mom got to be a helper at the dolphin exhibit at Epcot!! So neat!!! (another fun perk of having a sis with friends who work there!)

Ya think he's strapped in tight enough?? haha Drew loved Splash Mountain and wants to pretend we are back on it every time we ride in the car.

Precious princess

Aunt Lia and Uncle Caleb were beyond amazing to give our family a week of fun and memories that we will never forget! Thank you!!!!!

Camp CeCe Part 2

As you could see in my first post about Camp CeCe, it was a pretty awesome week! Here's a few more pictures of the fun...

Eating "dirt and worms"

Studying bugs

Going on a nature hike

Ladybug craft

Taking a snack break on the floor in the kitchen. I'm sure CeCe, PePaw, and Momo were thankful for the quick breathers they got at snack time!

Aren't they the cutest??

Playing a spider game with toilet paper

Taking rides in the Ranger. You can see Ramsey's little head up in the front seat. He likes to drive with PePaw

Time out from camp to go to church. Look at those tan Hill children!!!

Proudly wearing their badges that they earned for completing each day's activities. They were so very proud of these badges! My boys still look at their badges on occasion and relive the fun of each day by telling stories :-)

Silly kids!

He may as well have just received his Eagle Scout Honors...he was SO proud of his badges.  Mac wore his for days after camp was over. All of the kids LOVED Camp CeCe and started counting down to the next one on the day camp was over. I am so grateful for the memories our kids are making together with their cousins and grandparents. This is probably my favorite family tradition!!