Bows for Babies!

I have spent oodles of money on bows for Victoria, much to Jes' dismay. I was looking at them closely and realized I could make them myself fairly easily. I think each of these cost me about a buck! Yeah!

Jes sent me this email, and I just had to post it because I was in hysterics over it! Enjoy!!!

I had an embarrassing moment at the gym today I thought I'd share... First, you need some background: At the gym, as with many things in life, I have certain rules that I abide by and wish others would do the same. There are many of these rules in regards to the locker-room. Now, it has nothing to do with any sort of penis-envy or homophobe feelings, it's just that I try to minimize my exposure to other naked men as much as possible, especially when it's mostly really old men and fat people. I'm certainly comfortable enough with my body to "let it hang", but in respect of the rules, I don't. There are many rules, too many to list now, but they are what you'd typical expect, such as:(1) Shaving doesn't need to be done naked.(2) Blow-drying your hair doesn't need to be done while naked.(3) Don't whistle while in the shower or toilet.(4) Don't hum while in the shower or toilet.(5) Don't stop to chat with your friends on the way to the shower and NOT wrap your towel around you. (6) Don't jiggle your body any more than is absolutely necessary. It's draws the eye's attention.(7) Don't do stretches or bend over for ANYTHING while naked. You have toes to grab...use them.And so on... So, today, I enter the locker-room and, having the "repetition makes me happy" personality, I like to use a locker in a certain area. I have a few backups, but I'll always shoot for this particular area. As I round the corner, I see the long row of empty lockers with no one in sight, except one man. One man standing right where I like to put my stuff. Would I be forced to go to an alternate? Usually, any approach on this man would violate rule #12 (When plenty of space is available, stay as far away as possible). It's similar to rule #15 (When there are three toilets available and someone is at stall 3, you must use stall 1). However, I noticed this man appeared to be locking up his locker and heading off to exercise, so I felt comfortable that I could go right next to him and he'd leave. I WAS WRONG! He was getting INTO his locker from a sweat-less workout. Now what was I to do?!? I have violated rule #12 by getting as close to another man on a row of at least 100 lockers that are vacant and it's obviously awkward. Should I say something? That would violate rule #10 (No idle chit chat that can be misconstrued as flirting), especially when you combine rule #12 and rule #10 together! I couldn't just move. While it wouldn't have violated any rules, it would be really weird to all of the sudden grab all my stuff and move, as if he had serious body odor or something. I couldn't violate rule #3, so I did all I could do... I hurriedly changed my clothes while we both sat in awkward silence, about 2 feet from each other-in a 40 foot long row of empty lockers.
That's all.

Excited for the beach!

Mason was so excited for the beach, he was jumping all over and banging his head on the bed and doing crazy things. Of course, when we grabbed the camera, he stopped. But with some encouragement, he re-created a few of those events!

This was in the hotel room right before he went to the beach for the first time.

Corpus Christi - Aquarium

Our trip to South Padre Island began early Thursday morning. When Mason got out of bed, he was so excited to go. He got ready and sat patiently at the back door while we got everything. He even insisted on eating his breakfast there. We drove 3 hours to Corpus Christi and stopped at the Texas State Aquarium. Mason loved it! After that, it was another 2-3 hours to South Padre Island, pretty much as far south as you can go in Texas. But we had so much fun that we decided to go there once a year now!
Here are some pictures at the aquarium on the way...

Doing a dance for the fish...

Mason got to pet sting-rays and sharks! He thought it was so much fun, we had to go back and do it many times! At one point, Jes was lifting him out to pet a big one and dropped him half in the water....poor Mason was soaked!

South Padre Island!!!

We made it to the beach! Our hotel was right on the beach which made it very easy to spend all our time there! We did some boogy boarding (but never took any pictures of it!), played in the sand, and played in the water. We even played frisbee as a family for a long time! The beach is so beautiful and it goes on and on and you can walk really far out without getting too deep. The city was really fun too. It still had some noticable damage from Hurricane Dolly, but not too bad.
Every Friday night they have fireworks from the harbor which we all enjoyed!


Here is Tory enjoying her time on the beach!

She spent most of her time sleeping...

Mason enjoyed playing in the water and splashing with the waves. He got knocked over by a few big waves though and then he was a little more scared to go out further without his Mom or Dad.

We spent a LOT of time building sandcastles, writing in the sand, burying each other, and many other sand games!

Mason laughing at himself...

Jes and Mason making a sandcastle...Jes never got very far before Mason would smash it and laugh. It was starting to make Jes frustrated...

Here is Jes and Mason walking out the play in the bigger waves!

On Friday, we took a long walk down the beach searching for "Treasure". We found a lot of "trash", but these were the items that Mason deemed as treasure and Jes had to haul with him. It pretty much consisted of broken shovels (which Mason thought were "keys"), a "Walk with Jesus" necklace, a beer bottle lid, shells, broken toy parts, and a few sticks. Thanks to Daddy for carrying all this stuff while we walked! At least we did our part to clean up the beaches!

James Scarbrough 1980-2008

Tragically, Jes's step-brother died Thursday in Salt Lake City. He was the father of 2, a 6 year old and 1 year old, and had just started his own trucking company. Please pray for his family.


http://www.legacy.com/SaltLakeTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=115768829

Sleeping with scissors

Lately Mason has been requesting to sleep with a toy each night and nap. He picks a different one each time, and today at nap time he chose his play-do scissors. I thought it was funny that he fell asleep with his fingers in the holes, as if he was in the middle of cutting something when he fell asleep!

Basketball blues...

Each week, Jes plays basketball on Thursday nights at the church from about 9:30-midnight. Each week, he usually comes home very tired and sore. A few weeks ago he had a large bruise around his eye (luckily it didn't turn into a black eye) for a few days. A few months ago, he hurt his finger (tore ligaments according to the hand specialist). He still can barely use that finger. He hurt his shoulder a while ago and usually limps for about a day after the game.
Last Thursday...he crawled from the car to the house, hopped down the hall, woke me up, and said he needed some help.
This is what I saw...

His foot is usually not this big or this blue..

He had twisted or sprained or done something to his ankle. It swelled up and bruised and he couldn't walk on it very well for a day or two. It's now been almost a week and he still limps somewhat but says it's back to 80% functionality. He plans on playing basketball on Thursday again, against my advice.

So even though he hurt his shoulder, hurt his finger, and now hurt his ankle, he says he goes for his health!!! He blames the longevity of the injuries on the fact he's turning 30 next month...

My dear friend,Wendy, 'tagged me!' So, here we go!

What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago? Being pursued by Jes and dating Sam (much to Jes' dismay!) Senior at Woods Cross High School

Things On My To-Do List Today: Since it's 10:30 pm, go to bed! Tomorrow... I guess we will see what the day brings, I have no plans yet!

What Are Some Snacks You Enjoy? Dr. Pepper, Doritos, and hostess orange cupcakes

What Would You Do If You Were A Millionaire? Hire a maid!

Name Some Of The Places You Have Called Home: Bountiful Ut, Layton Ut, Phoenix Tempe and Gilbert Arizona, Austin and Buda Texas!

What Are Some Of Your Bad Habits? Drinking TOO much Dr. Pepper, locking myself out of my house!

What Are Some Jobs You Have Held: Clerk at TJ Maxx, restaurant hostess, and my personal favorite... staple puller outer, otherwise known as staple remover! I got paid 8 bucks an hour to do that job!!! It put me through school!!!

Who Are You Tagging? LaNan, Misty and Stacy

Taylor Family Tuesday Nights...

(Posting from Jes)

Well....I'm slightly ashamed to say it, but none-the-less it's true... Tuesday night in the Taylor household is full of laughter at the misery of other people on ABC's new show Wipeout. Every week I get to listen to my sweet wife say how she wants to try, so I took some time to look up how to enter! Go ahead Ashlee, make our family proud!!

Toilet trouble

The other day I called Jes and told him we had a small problem... I had just caught Mason playing in the toilet and he had flushed some toys down it! Mason told me the letter '"O" and a car had gone down the hole. When Jes got home he was able to get the car out, but the "O" was nowhere in sight. The toilet however was still clogged. Mason said that he had only flushed the "O" (which was small so I assume it is now in our septic tank) and the car, but we knew there must be something else in there. After several plunging attempts and snaking Jes was forced to take the whole dang thing apart! He didn't have time to do this right away, so the toilet sat plugged for a few days. It wouldn't have been a big deal but I didn't lock the door to the bathroom and Mason (being a good boy) went potty by himself... in that toilet! So, then it was clogged with a toy, AND poop! Once the toilet was off, Jes still had to work for about 30 minutes to dislodge the suspect, but he was finally successful! Poor Jes! I am glad I am the Mom and don't have to do that yucky stuff!!!

cutie pie smiley face!

Fork Man Super Hero!

Jes and Mason were up to there same old antics again... using whatever they can find around the house to have fun! Jes is so good at thinking like a kid and coming up with new and inventive ways to make Mason have great play time! He thinks his Daddy is the best around, and he is right! Jes always take time to play with him, no matter how busy he gets. I feel so lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful Father for my precious children! And the best part; is Jes LOVES playing with him, so it is genuine!