Family Camping

A few days before the Taylor Family Reunion, we drove through Yosemite, and then south to a beautiful area called Mammoth Lakes. It's a snow ski town, with numerous lakes and hiking and camping spots. The weather was a bit cool for early June, so we shouldn't have been too surprised to see so much snow on the mountains and the ski season still going. We had to miss out on some of the hikes we planned because of it, but ended up finding some other good ones.

We arrived the first night a bit late, which meant Hannah and Derek set up tents in dark, cold, wet conditions. They did really well however. Cathy made an effort to find all the food and supplies for us to eat something before going to bed.

We camped for two nights among lots of trees, (and supposedly bears) and enjoyed going on a couple of hikes. Some RVers next to our camp site said that a bear walked through our site while we were away. After that, Jamie was even more on edge about bears coming to get us. Even now, she says she never wants to camp in the mountains again.

The kids had a fun time exploring the campgrounds, and got an afternoon of game playing in our tents when the rain went on and on for about 3 hours. Despite the cold and on and off rain, we enjoyed this beautiful area and using our camp equipment again (it's been 2 or 3 years!)

Mackenzie with Half Dome in Yosemite in background

On theTioga Pass road through beautiful Yosemite

The kids enjoying a fun hike near an earthquake fault
in Mammoth Lakes area

Large earthquake fault

Mackenzie at our campsite

The other part of our campsite

Going on a hike in Mammoth Lakes, up to the
top of a dome mountain

The kids were thrilled to see snow on the hike, we
had to hike through some of it in one section (Samantha did not like that!)

The view of Mammoth Lakes valley at the top

A view of the beautiful mountains in the other direction

View of some of the lakes at Mammoth Lakes

Adam documenting our campsite

After camping, we drove through Death Valley National Park on our way to Las Vegas where we enjoyed very nice accomodations, and could shower, wash clothes and swim. The next day, we drove the rest of the way to Showlow, Arizona for our reunion.

May Highlights

Hannah participated in a fundraiser to help her earn some money for Girl's Camp. The Stake had a spaghetti dinner and cake auction. Her responsibilities included cooking spaghetti noodles in advance, helping with set up and serving food during the dinner. She was also required to make at least one cake to donate to the auction. Her cake is shown below. Her inspiration came from a bunny cake we received in April from a friend in our ward. She added a few additional details to the one she made and it turned out really cute!


Scout O Rama--Cathy took Adam and some of his sisters to our local scouts council's annual Scout O Rama. It is a huge scouting fair, held at a park in San Jose. There were lots of booths with activities, games or things to learn about. Adam's favorite were shooting targets with rubber band guns. We weren't there long enough to try everything they had, but it was fun to see what Scout O Rama is like and attend it for the first time. Hopefully we can go again next year.


Monopoly--Adam has been quite interested in the game of Monopoly. He played all of our versions whenever he could--The original, Star Wars and a computer version. He would even play by himself when no one was available to join him. (he was sure to win that way!)


Mother's Day--Cathy was surprised by a gift of a video camera! She has wanted one for years, and is so glad to be able to record some of the cute antics of the kids. Here are some examples below.

Samantha has done it. We've been working on potty training on a nd off for a few months, offering an M&M anytime she was successful at using the potty. She finally started showing real motivation on her own this month and kept at wearing panties and using the potty. After all the M&Ms were used up, she had established the new habit and earned the Charmin Honor Roll Graduate t-shirt. Sammie is quite happy to be called a "big girl" now a nd loves wearing her princess panties. Way to go Samantha!


Violin Garden Concert--Hannah and Mackenzie had their final violin concert for the year. It was held in a back yard, so that the students could experience an outdoor concert. They have lots of fun dealing with the wind and keeping their music attached to their stands.

Memorial Day--The morning was spent on projects and shopping. In the afternoon our homeschool Co-Op choir performed for all the parents and any additional friends and family who wanted to come. Later we met at a Co-Op family's home for a swim party and BBQ to end our Co-Op school year. It was a lot of fun! The weather was actually not warm enough for swimming, but all the kids filled that pool and played on and off in it for 3 hours. We enjoyed great food and visiting with our good friends.

Fathers and Sons campout--Derek and Adam and our friend, Kyle, attended our ward's Fathers and Sons campout. It was a little different for them this year, as it was held at a campsite near a beach. They had a nice evening program and dessert, and then a fun morning of activities in and around the beach.Adam in red jacket, Derek next to him in gray jacket

Primary Activity--while Derek and Adam were camping, the girls attended a Primary Activity that had a theme of camping. They learned all about safe hiking and camping, got to have a smores treat and enjoyed some playing. While they were there, Cathy took Laurel and ran errands in preparation for an upcoming family camping trip in early June. The girls came home from the activity excited to go camping!

Coversations with Samantha

Conversations with a three year old can be quite interesting. Here are a few we remember.

A conversation during dinner preparation

Samantha: What are you making?
Cathy: A casserole
Samantha: No, it's a castle. Call it a castle.

A conversation at dinner one night

Cathy: Please eat your vegetables so you can be healthy.
Samantha: No. (then a pause)
Samantha: Will I be big like Jamie if I eat them?
Cathy: Yes, vegetables will help you grow.
Samantha: Okay, I'll have some.

(We wish it were that easy every time!)


A conversation at dinner another night

Derek: How much do you want?
Samantha: I want a yot.
Derek: A yacht? I want a yacht too!

Kissing Pigs?

It seems that Cathy had been kissing pigs. How else can we explain her coming down with the flu, and then it spreading like crazy through our family over the next two weeks? Must be that Swine Flu going around. Well, even if that isn't the case, we've had a not-so-great first two weeks of May. We managed to survive the days of fevers, coughs and runny noses. Now that everyone has taken a turn with it, we are beginning to reach the "tail" end of it around here. One thing for sure about living through a miserable spell of illness--it helps you to be very grateful for a healthy body!

Samantha and Laurel lying around during their "sick" days

BYU Women's Conference

Cathy had the opportunity to attend Women's Conference for the first time. She flew to Utah and stayed with her sister in law, Heather, and mother in law, Ruth. The conference was two days long, filled with all kinds of classes and service projects. Cathy had a great time! The classes were inspiring, and the BYU campus was beautiful to walk around in between the classes. It was also nice to spend some time with Heather and Ruth. While Cathy was away, Derek was a super dad again and took care of the children. Thank you Derek!

Our little monkey

It appears that Laurel hasn't reached her limit of heights yet. Just the other day we discovered her on the top of a book case. She seemed quite proud of herself. Laurel has also learned how to climb to the top of the bunk beds in her room. Then on another day when we had moved a bookcase into the living room, she decided she needed to climb that too before we got books on it. It promptly fell over on her and Samantha. No injuries resulted, but we are beginning to wonder if we have even one room in our house that is safe for Laurel to be left alone in. (Anyone have a padded room they could loan us?)

When Laurel isn't climbing on something, she loves to just "hang around".

on the chin up bar in our hallway


from Adam's bunk bed

Farewell to a great woman

While in Arizona, I (Cathy) got the news that my Grandmother O'Dwyer had passed away. It wasn't too surprising, but nonetheless sad at the thought she was really gone from this life. The last few years she had been declining physically and mentally, so in a way, the Grandmother I knew was already "gone". However, I knew I really wanted to be at her funeral. Because my parents were in town when we were, it worked out conveniently for me to drive back to Colorado with them, and then fly home from there after the funeral. Derek was an angel to make the long drive back home with all the kids on his own. And then take care of them for another 2 days until I got back. It meant a lot to me to be able to attend the funeral. It was wonderful to see so many aunts and uncles and cousins, some I hadn't seen in a very long time. It was like a huge reunion, as we came together to celebrate the life of a wonderful woman. I had always know how great my grandmother was, but I learned so much more about her as family members shared stories and memories that they had experienced with her. I really wished Derek and our children could have been there with me to feel of the special spirit that was present. It is wonderful to know the blessings of the plan of salvation. I look forward to seeing my grandmother again someday.My Grandma Dorothy (or Dodo as many called her)

Cathy with parents and siblings at the gravesite in Fruita, Colorado

A wedding

The day finally arrived to participate in Rachel's wedding. Derek and Cathy enjoyed their special ceremony in the Mesa temple, and then we went with the children to the reception and took lots of pictures! Rachel and Corey were a handsome and happy couple. Once the reception got under way, we spent the evening visiting and enjoy cookies and milk (instead of traditional wedding cake). We had a fun time. At times like this, Derek likes to ask Cathy if she will marry him again. Her response is, "No, I've already married you, but I'll take another honeymoon!"

Samantha waiting for the party to start

Adam thought it was fun to wear a suit

cousin Sarah and Hannah

Derek and Cathy

Playing in Arizona

We spent a fun week visiting family in Mesa, Arizona. Our intent in coming during this time was to attend the wedding of Derek's youngest sister, Rachel. But until the wedding day, we had plenty to keep us busy. We enjoyed Easter weekend as we participated in a large family gathering that included an easter egg hunt and birthday dinner/BBQ. The kids had a great time playing with lots of cousins. They loved going on the eater egg hunt and eating up all their candy. Later that night, our three oldest went to spend the night at some cousins home. On Easter Sunday we spent most of the day with Derek's brother, Joe, and his family.

During the week we spent time at Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's home playing and relaxing. With Derek's sister, Beka, and her boys, we went to a fun park that had a carousel and train ride. By Tuesday, we were joined by Grandma and Grandpa O'Dwyer, who were also visiting. We had plenty of time to play and visit. The older kids loved Grandpa's new motorized razor scooter. We also went to a fun indoor amusement park, Fiddler on the Roof high school play, and Adam enjoyed a fun birthday treat at an indoor go-Kart racing facility. While we were having all this fun, Derek had flown back home to work for a few days, but got back in time to take Adam to race go-karts. We also enjoyed spending time with cousins any time they were available. It was a great week!

Mackenzie and Laurel

Adam

Cathy, Samantha and Mackenzie before train ride

Laurel and Jamie at easter egg hunt

Samantha hunting for easter eggs

Laurel at the park

Laurel having fun learning how to get easter eggs

cousin Sarah and Hannah

cousin Sidney and Jamie

Laurel enjoyed the trampoline at times, but also this slide

cousin Mary and Mackenzie

Birthdays

April is a big month for birthdays in our family. Jamie celebrated her 6th birthday and Adam celebrated his 10th.
We had a fun birthday dinner at home for Jamie before we left on a trip for Arizona. Then two days later, Jamie and Adam were part of a big birthday dinner at the Taylor's. A few days after that was Adam's actual birthday and he enjoyed some cards and a gift. A real special treat for him though, was to go drive Go Karts at F1 race factory with his dad and Grandpa O'Dwyer. He was finally old enough to do that and had a great time!


She got new clothes for her 18" doll















Showing her new bike wheels, basket and helmet











Derek and Adam at the indoor race track

Violin Concert

Mackenzie and Hannah had a violin concert. This was Mackenzie's first playing violin. There was just her and another boy in her class. So far they have only plucked, but are now learning to use the bow.

Hannah's group is all girls and they had fun with their songs. They have some fiddle music lovers in their group, so they attempted a fiddle song this time and it was fun.

Datascaler--staying alive

Good news! Funding has come through! Enough so that the company can proceed as planned through the next year, maybe even longer. The goal is to have their product in the hands of 3 customers within 12 months. Derek is very grateful for the continued employment with Datascaler and is excited to help the company reach their goals. Yeah! Keep up the good work guys!

On a quest for height

Adam is on a quest to grow tall. And not just over time, but within 3 weeks! Next month he turns 10 years old. For a long time he has wanted to go ride Go Karts. He hasn't been able to thus far due to his age (not yet 10) or his height. We will be in Arizona for a week in April, and thought he would enjoy riding go karts on his birthday. Unfortunately, the go kart establishments in Arizona allow riders by height, not age. He needs to be 56' tall. He measures at 54". When we measured him with shoes, he was 55". With that knowledge, Adam has been determined to help himself grow the extra inch in just a few weeks. His "appetite" has increased greatly in the first week of attempting this. He figures eating lots and lots of food at each meal will help him grow. He may have a point. But hopefully the growth will be in the right direction. :)

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!

We had a visit from Derek's sister, Anna, and her family for 5 days. The excitement for their visit had been building for weeks! We spent 5 days of play, with a house full of 12 children and 4 adults. Despite the great numbers of people in an average size house, things went very well. We were grateful we didn't have any rain, which made it easier to enjoy the yard space and parks as well. Some of the activities that some or all of us participated in were:

~Primary Activity--Scripture Olympics
~a birthday dinner for 1 year old LauraJo
~all day at the Tech Museum
~Morning hours at the Jungle Playland
~a girls beauty salon and movie
~Relief Society dinner
~bike riding at the BMX park
~playing at the parks and walks around the block
~watching movies

The follow pictures are a sampling from their visit. Thank you Phelps for making the time and effort to visit us! It was wonderful to see you!

Laurel playing in the ball pit at the Jungle

Samantha at the Jungle

Adam playing KNEX and LEGOs with cousin Hyrum

Jamie and Samantha playing games with cousin Lincoln

Hannah and Mackenzie playing games with cousin Mary


Mackenzie, Hannah, Mary and Hyrum at the park

I love to see the Temple

Our homeschool Co-Op, along with other LDS homeschoolers in the Bay Area, met at the Oakland temple for a few hours. We had done this about 5 months earlier. we all gathered in the temple lobby and sang a song for the temple President. He then spoke to the children. Then the older children went inside to do some baptisms. The rest of us went on some tours. We started on the veranda of the temple and enjoyed visiting and seeing the surrounding sights (see pictures). We then went to the Visitor Center and went on some tours there. After wards, we met with the older children and had a picnic lunch. It was a really nice day.

Laurel and Jamie at the Oakland Temple

Adam at the Oakland Temple

And baby makes 9

Well, the kids were right. This is an odd numbered year, so we are supposed to have another baby. Cathy thought it would be great to throw off the current pattern of every other year, but Heavenly Father always has a better plan. We excitedly announce that Cathy is pregnant and due October 2nd! As you can probably guess, another boy is in big demand this time. We should be able to find out what's in store in a couple of months. Until then, we are happy to know from the first ultrasound that there is indeed one little baby growing with a very healthy beating heart. (sorry Derek and Adam, no twins!)

Cathy is doing well, she has just been dealing with a bit of "morning sickness" throughout the whole month of February. Thankfully, it is not too severe, just plain uncomfortable. Hopefully the end is in sight in a couple more week. Morning sickness is really mislabeled. It should be something like "afternoon and evening sickness", or "sickness when you don't eat, or even when you do".

Scouting

This month has been filled with more scouting than usual. Adam is no longer the only one involved in this home. Derek has been asked to be the Varsity Coach for the 14 and 15 year old boys in our Stake. Cathy has been asked to be a Den Leader. She is a den leader for the Bear cub scouts. Adam is in the Bear den, at least until he turns 10 in April. With the new assignments, we have been busy learning our responsibilities, attending training and planning meetings, as well as the regular weekly meetings. We are looking forward to our involvement in scouting.

Last Thursday was Adam's Blue and Gold Banquet for the cub scouts. We enjoyed a nice dinner, award ceremony (Adam earned his Bear award and some arrow points), and skits. The Bears were the funniest, with some "america" jokes. Give Adam a call and he can tell you a few.

Baby Bird

The life cycle of a bird is amazingly fast, at least when compared to humans. A bird lays an egg, sits on it two weeks, it hatches, and after a week of care, the baby bird flys from the nest, never to return to it. The bird on our back porch (referred to in post "Spring is in the Air") finally had one of it's eggs hatch (the other apparently never formed a baby). We were able to catch glimpses of the baby once in a while, but the mother was very protective. It was there only a week or so and the nest is now empty of mother and baby. So amazing!

Ancient History

Our history studies have now led us to the ancient Greeks. We learned a bit about the early olympics and decided to have our own. We also decided we would change a few things--both boys and girls could participate, and our participants would wear clothes. :) The kids dressed up in some white tunics (typical of ancient greece fashion) and had a fun time playing some competitive games (that they all won at). Bean bag toss, building grecian columns, and the long jump were the main events. After the games, the kids were all awarded leaf wreaths. Learning history is fun!

Will work for Food

In our house, whenever there are treats around, any leftovers are considered "elf" food. Elf food is eaten by those kind, servicing creatures who do most of the work in the house. (aka Dad and Mom) And the elves usually eat up the extra treats when kids are in bed. Our children have caught on to this, and often wish they could enjoy the elf food too. Sometimes we offer them extra chores to do in order to be "elves" and earn the extra treats. The following pictures were taken as they worked hard to get the remaining chocolate chip cookies the other day.