Merry Christmas!

We wanted to share some of the highlights of 2008 in the Taggart home with you...

Logan (5) started kindergarten and is amazing us by how quickly he learns. He loves playing with and picking on Caden and Brooklyn. He played on a t-ball and a soccer team this year, and is currently playing basketball. He also enjoys swimming and doing flips off of the diving board. He cried the other day because it was cold outside and asked when it would be summer again. He is a great big brother, always willing to help out. He and Caden love playing wrestle mania with Brandon when he comes home from work each day.

Caden (4) is enjoying preschool. He catches on quickly and has a big vocabulary. He is the comedian in our home, always quick to laugh and make us laugh. We try to compliment him by saying he is handsome or smart and he says, "No, I'm funny!" That is the ultimate compliment in his mind. He still loves his blankie and chocolate milk, and is always wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He taught himself how to ride a bike during the summer so he can keep up with Logan. He's had stitches twice this year, so we hope 2009 treats him better!

Brooklyn (almost 2) is little Miss Independent. She loves to dress herself. Sometimes I try to help her when her shirt is stuck on her head or is inside-out and she says, "No, I do it!" I've learned to step back and let her express herself in her own way. She's quite the talker. She tells us exactly what she wants and gets a lot of satisfaction in being understood. She loves babies and dolls and playing in the kitchen. She gets into everything! Once, I sent the kids downstairs so I could mop the floor, only to come downstairs and find Brooklyn on the carpet, with navy blue paint all over herself and the carpet! After days of cleaning, we miraculously got the carpet back to normal. Talk about a counterproductive day!

Christmas is so much fun with these little guys in our home. They have an enthusiasm for life that is contagious. This has been a challenging year for us with the real estate market being slower than usual. It's been a good learning experience in many ways, as our faith and our abilities have been put to the test. Through it all, we've been reminded that as long as we have our family and the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have everything we need and we can truly be happy.

We are grateful for wonderful family and friends. We appreciate your love and support. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and wish you the best in 2009!

Little Mommy

Brooklyn is OBSESSED with babies! It's funny what an innate attraction she has to them compared to our two boys. Here she is holding our friends' baby, who is almost bigger than she is. Anytime she sees a baby she runs up and tries to hug, kiss, pet, soothe, and hold him/her. She's helpful, but almost too helpful. She was on the baby lookout yesterday at church. As soon as she spotted a baby she would yell, "Hi Baby! Hi!" over and over again. She knows their names and when we pass by their houses she tells us where they live. Obsessed! She is a good little mommy in training.

Better Late than Never

I'm a little behind the times in getting these pictures posted. These guys absolutely loved Halloween this year...the candy, costumes, parties, everything!We borrowed this pink poodle costume from Brooklyn's cousin. I'm glad we didn't buy a costume because Brooklyn wore it for maybe a total of 5 minutes. She only wanted to trick-or-treat in her t-shirt and flip flops. Crazy girl!

Our cool clone trooper really got into the holiday. I got to help out with a party in Logan's classroom, and here he is in a parade through the school. It was all about the candy for him.

Our poor middle child...I realized when we got home from trick-or-treating and the kids had changed that I never got a picture of Caden in his costume. I begged him to put it back on for a picture, and this is as good as it gets. Funny pirate!

Stitches...Round 2

As we were getting ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa Taggart's house the other night, the kids got a little crazy and were running around with their cousins. I was about to say, "Settle down" and "Let's go!" when they ran into the living room and one of the cousins accidentally pushed Caden into a table that was holding a ceramic rose. One of the petals jabbed into Caden's cheek, leaving a pretty deep wound. We knew he'd need stitches so we left the other kids with Aunt Julie. We had to stop at home for a minute and decided to stop by our neighbor's house, who is a PA, to ask his opinion. He agreed that we'd need stitches and went above and beyond by offering to go with us to his clinic and do the stitches himself. It was late, so the only place that would have been open was the ER. It sure put Caden at ease to know that his friends' dad would be taking care of him, instead of a stranger. Thank you Matt! This was Caden's second time having stitches (pushed by brother the first time, just 6 months ago). He was petrified the first time, but he was so calm and brave this time. The best part of this experience happened when we got home. Logan had been crying and was so worried about Caden. He and the cousins drew cute pictures for Caden. Logan hugged Caden and told him how much he loved him. It was so sweet to see this tender side of our normally tough boys. They do love each other after all!

Happy Birthday Caden!

Caden turned 4 on Friday. I can't believe how quickly he's growing up! We had a busy weekend and Caden loved every minute of it. His friends, Rylan and Ethan, also have birthdays on the same day, so we had a big Halloween Party for them and some of their friends. Grandma and Grandpa Stott and Aunt Kim and Uncle Jason came up from Utah for the weekend, and spoiled the kids, of course. We also had the rest of the family over on Saturday for another birthday celebration. Caden asked me, "When I turn 4 can I still have my funny blankie?" I thought it was cute that as much as he wants to grow up, there's still a bit of a little boy in there that likes his blankie and chocolate milk.

Caden loves everything Star Wars! He was very excited about his light saber and other toys.
My attempt at making a pirate cake almost failed at the last minute. I held the cake together as we sang so it wouldn't fall apart!
We love our little pirate. He is so fun-loving and tender-hearted. His favorite things are animals, bugs, digging in the dirt, Star Wars, pirates, super heroes, and sports. He is quick to laugh or make us laugh and loves to wrestle with his brother and Daddy.

The Things They Say...

Today Caden came to me and said, "I'm hungry. Can I have a grand crapper?" I laughed to myself as I found him a graham cracker. I hope you're not offended by the "strong" language, but I thought that was too cute not to share. I don't think I'll ever think of graham crackers without smiling again.

Soccer in the Snow

We knew we'd have to gear up for Logan's soccer game today. We heard there was a chance of snow, so we bundled up in our coats, gloves, hats, and layers of clothes and headed to the game. I forgot how long it takes to bundle everyone up! The wind was nearly blowing us over when we got there, but at least it wasn't snowing. Logan and his teammates were such troopers, taking off their coats to play and never complaining of the cold. We told Logan to run around A LOT, so he wouldn't freeze. Shortly into the game, the snow came. The kids were so excited and distracted by it that we had to keep reminding them to play the game. They were catching snowflakes on their tongues and slipping and falling all over the place. Brooklyn was tired and frozen--a bad combination! Luckily Caden kept himself busy on the playground with some friends. Is it possible to go back to Arizona just for the soccer/football season? I wouldn't mind that weather right now. Logan only has one game left, but this is just the beginning for us. I'm sure we have hundreds of games yet to go to over the next 15+ years. We better learn to grin and bear it... and wear snowsuits next time.

Family Fun

We went to Teton Spectrum Raceway last night to celebrate the birthday of one of our friends. The kids had never been there before and they had a blast!

Brooklyn was obsessed with the race car video game. We didn't even have to put any quarters in and she was perfectly content.

The boys loved the inflatable toys. We were amazed at how quickly they maneuvered through the obstacle courses and went up and down the slide.

Brandon used Brooklyn as an excuse to go on the slide. I think he enjoyed it even more than he let on!

This was Logan's first time on a go-cart. Somehow he knew just what to do and avoided crashing into the wall and his friends.

Little Miss Independent

At 20 months, Brooklyn already thinks she can do it all. Once she gets something in her mind, there's no changing it! We went to Target yesterday and I decided to buy her some new shirts. I showed her what I had picked out and she took off her shirt right there and was determined to wear a new one. She even took out her bow! I tried to put her shirt back on and she threw a fit, much to the chagrin of all the mothers passing by. We then went to Michael's and while I was checking out at the register, she was determined to leave. I kept telling her to come back, but she went through the first set of double doors while I was in the middle of paying. She stopped to look at the Halloween decorations and just as I approached her she put her hand in an empty Halloween candy bowl. Suddenly a skeleton hand emerged from the bowl and she ran away screaming! I picked her up and brought her back to show her what it was. I put my hand in the bowl, thinking that seeing it the second time would be funny to her rather than scary. I was wrong! She cried and pulled away as fast as she could. It was hilarious! I decided that maybe next time she'll think twice before going off on her own again...Wishful thinking.

More Milestones

Caden loves preschool! It's nice for him to have something to do while big brother is in kindergarten. He's making some new friends and he loves his teacher. Every day he's excited to tell us about everything he's done.
There are 6 boys and just 1 girl in Caden's class!
He's growing up so fast! Last week Caden reached another milestone...he rode his bike without training wheels! Ever since Logan learned at the beginning of summer, Caden has been begging to take off his training wheels. I finally told him I'd work with him a few weeks ago. He sat on Logan's old bike and I steadied the bike as he rode. After 15 minutes he decided to go back to his bike with training wheels because it was too hard. I figured that was the end of that. Wrong! Over the next several days he would sit on Logan's bike and push himself along. One day without notice he just took off! I couldn't believe our 3-year old was riding to the end of the street so quickly, and that he had taught himself. Way to go Caden!

Our Big Kindergartner

Logan was so excited for his first day of school! I wasn't sure how I would hold up as we dropped him off in the morning. I started to get a little choked up, but I fought off the tears and put on my brave face. I was proud of myself, but more importantly, I was very proud of him. He came home that day with so many things to tell us. He loves learning! I can't believe how quickly he's growing up!

Logan lines up behind his friend, Landon, who is a head taller than him. Most of the kids in his class are friends from our neighborhood.

She's Growing Up!

Brooklyn went to her first friend birthday party today. The boys and I stayed so she wasn't on her own. All the kids swam and played in the dirt/mud. Anything messy and they have a blast! They even had cupcakes. Good thing we were outside! The boys weren't sure about eating on the princess plates. Logan said, "Do you think they have any boy plates?"

Brooklyn is so brave when it comes to water that she just climbed head first into the water and got stuck on the edge of the pool with her head under water for a few seconds, giving me a scare! We got her up and she seemed unphased by the whole thing. Later as we were eating cupcakes I could tell that she was tired. She kept nodding off, then waking up to take another bite of cupcake. Finally, the sleep won out and she was there on my lap with pink frosting all over her face and hands. It would have made a great picture! All that fun wore her out.

Our Utah Trip

After being without a camera for a few weeks, I am finally posting some pictures from our trip to Utah a month ago. We were there for my cousin's wedding and a Taggart family reunion.

Following the wedding, Brooklyn ran over to this fountain area, where the water sporadically shot up out of the ground. She thought it was great, running from one fountain to the next and trying to get a drink of water.

This was our first trip as a family to Lagoon. The boys had a blast! We had fun watching them have fun all day. Brandon and I did get a chance to go on one rollercoaster--"Wicked". We were nervous to try it because it takes you straight up and straight down and every other which way, but we loved it.

We had a picnic and played in the water at Liberty Park. The kids had fun with their cousin, Ahna. They were hesitant to get in the water and get their faces wet. The bravest of all was Brooklyn. She jumped right in their with all the big kids. It was hilarious! She is our little water baby and dare devil. She keeps us on our toes!

Always our favorite part of going to Utah is spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Stott. Caden calls them "The far away grandma and grandpa". Here we are at Temple Square with Grandma. We spent a day downtown seeing the church sites and riding Trax.

Our Camping Adventure

We went camping at Calamity with my brother, Mike, his wife, Jessica, and our little neice, Ahna. We had a beautiful spot, overlooking Palisades Reservoir. Here we attempted a 1/2 mile hike with the kids!

Ahna and Brooklyn are just 6 months apart. It was fun watching them play together on this trip. They are quickly becoming great buddies.

Brooklyn is queen of the rock. This was her first time camping and she loved it. She chased the other kids around and thought she was so big. She loves to be independent.

Poor Caden had a bad reaction to a mosquito bite. Half of his head was swollen to the point he could hardly open his eye. He was such a trooper, never once complaining. It must have looked worse than it felt. Luckily it's back to normal now.

Logan was so enthusiastic about this trip. He would wake up early in the morning and yell, "I love camping! This is so much fun." He probably woke up everyone around us with his excitement.

The kids gave this trip two big thumbs up. After packing up our camp, we headed to Heise Hot Springs and swam (and washed off all our dirt!), then had some delicious pizza at the pizza parlor before heading home.

Fun at the Park

There is a park at the ball field which kept Brooklyn entertained. She thinks she's so big, riding the horse. If you look close enough you can see a very tiny attempt at a ponytail. It's slowly getting there!

Caden is Traveling to Salt Lake in a Submarine!

Everyday he takes all of the pillows off our bed and makes a submarine. He gets Sasha and makes her be his traveling mate. Today we were in the Great Salt Lake, headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was amazing how many sharks and octopi we saw there! I had no idea!

Logan's 1st T-Ball Game

We were getting a kick out of watching the kids. They're still trying to figure out how the game works...when and where to run, stay in place, throw, bat, etc. Logan made a great hit, ran fast, and even got two people out. He was so excited! It's fun to watch him develop this talent.

Our Trip

We went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago to celebrate our 8th anniversary. This was the first time we left Brooklyn. The kids all stayed with Grandma & Grandpa Stott. We had a lot of fun on our trip. It was the getting there that was the challenge. The day before we left we were running errands. As we pulled into the garage Logan told me that his tongue hurt. He showed me the chocolate he had just eaten and, sure enough, it had cashews (which he is allergic to). Only a few seconds later he was throwing up in the car. Yuck! He spent the rest of the day recovering.

The next day we were in the car, ready to leave, and wouldn't you know it...the battery was dead, for no apparent reason. We jump started the car and were on our way. We drove to Salt Lake, where my parents live, and spent the night there before Brandon and I flew out the next morning. About an hour before leaving for the airport I couldn't find my keys anywhere. I searched everywhere. In desperation I finally called a locksmith to unlock the car so I could get my things out. Right after he left I found the keys (of course!) burried in the diaper bag. Brooklyn had hidden them in there!

Once we finally got to Vegas we had a great time. We stayed in Mandalay Bay, which has a sandy beach and a wave pool. We spent a lot of time basking in the sun. We also went to some fun shows--Danny Gans, who is an impersonator, and "O" Cirque del Soilel. Both shows were amazing! We went on a gondola ride and toured the M&M store, ate crepes and gelato, and had fun just walking around. We were sure glad we didn't have the kids there, though. We couldn't look anywhere without seeing scantilly clad people on billboards or walking around. It made us appreciate our sheltered little corner of the world. We were excited to get back to the kids after a few days. We spent some time with the family at a condo in Park City, then headed back home.

Go Skyline!

As you may know, we live in Skyline High School boundaries. This is where Brandon went to school and loved it, so when looking for a house, that was a prerequisite. Last week we went to a fundraiser banquet at Skyline. The booster club was selling old basketball shorts from when Brandon played, and even before his time. We were laughing at how short the shorts were. This was before the long shorts were in style (Does that make us sound old or what?!). They were selling the shorts for $2, so I decided we had to get some for the boys. They were so short I knew they would be perfect. The boys were so excited! We have to cinch in the waist a lot, but they work. Now we have little Skyline Grizzlies in training!

I Wish I Had a Camera!

Yesterday we had our niece Jenna over as we do every Friday while her mom is working. It was Jenna's birthday so she brought her new Beauty and the Beast Tea set to play with. You should have seen how excited the boys were to play with it! We also had Logan's friend Lizzie over, and we all had a big tea party. It's not often that the girls outnumber the boys and that we get to do "girl things" at our house. They all had so much fun. Their friend Katie also came over later and they all designed clothes for a fashion show, then they modeled their dress-ups. Brandon had the camera unfortunately or I would have taken pictures. Lately I've been finding the boys in Brooklyn's room, playing with her doll house. They bring in the Star Wars and super hero toys to invade the house, so there is still an element of masculinity to their play, but one of these days I'll catch them off guard with a camera for future black-mail pictures!

Keeping the Doctors in Business

While Brandon went to a convention in Orlando, I decided to take the kids to Utah to visit my family. The first night we were there Logan couldn't sleep because his ear hurt. I decided to take him to the doctor the next day, and I took Caden also because he had a rash that wasn't clearing up. I figured Logan had an ear infection, which he did. What surprised me was that Caden had strep! When we got back from the clinic Brooklyn broke out in a fever and was having a hard time breathing. So I took her to the doctor the next day and found out that she had bronchitis. On top of that, my neice was hospitalized for RSV! Of course this all happened while Brandon was enjoying himself in Florida! I was glad my family was there to help out. Everyone recovered well, but then 2 weeks later the boys were playing downstairs and Caden bumped his chin on the table and had to get stitches! Now that was traumatic. Hopefully we can stay away from the doctors for a while now, but you never know.

It's Melting!

The snow is finally starting to melt! We have a couple feet outside right now and the roads are still covered in ice in most parts. It did start to warm up though, so we took the kids sledding a few days ago in Grandma & Grandpa Taggart's backyard. They have a hill that is just the right size for these guys. They loved it! Soon they "outgrew" the little hill and had to look for something more adventurous. They decided to try "The Dropoff" (a part in the hill where there's a big drop). We were hesitant to let them try, but they did it and felt pretty big. They were telling everyone they saw later that day that they had done The Dropoff. Most people didn't know what that meant, but they knew it must be something exciting, judging by their enthusiastic expressions. They're growing up!

Cleaning Tips

This past weekend Brooklyn got into some dark acrylic paint and spilled it all over our carpet! What a disaster! I did the best I could in my frantic state of mind to clean it up with whatever carpet cleaner I could find. Now after going through the whole process (and unfortunaltely with a small stain to show for it), I have some tips for anyone who has the same thing happen...

• Call a professional from the beginning (You'll save yourself a lot of time and stress!)
• Blot up as much as possible with paper towels, then moisten with water and keep blotting as long as the paint continues to come up.
• Mix a little dish soap with warm water, apply, and keep blotting.
• The best cleaning solution I could find is Sol-U-Mel, made by Melaleuca. It's amazing how much more paint we could get out with this even after a professional cleaner had come.
• The last tip is to remember that kids are more important than carpet and that their well-being is far more important than clean carpet!

It's Us...Finally!

After months of thinking about creating a family blog site and seeing all the cute sites of family and friends, we're finally joining the club. I've been hesitant because I am not always good at keeping up with things like this, but we will give it a try. We'll try to update it regulary. We're anxious to keep in touch better with all of you.