December= tree harvest= time away from home= stress= a living

We had two Christmas Tree Lots to run this year in Chino and Walnut, CA.  It was a race against mishaps and rain but we came out alive.  I stayed down with my folks while Duane drove back every weekend after he finished a week of teaching.  I am tired just thinking about it. However, the good things about this time were the special explorations of Papee and Taylor.  My dad, Papee, and Taylor really hit it off because all Taylor wants to do is be outside and Papee likes to "wander" around discovering new things too. He also didn't mind going out ALL the time (as opposed to Mommy who wants to stay inside especially during inclement weather). These are a few pics I got of them together in the rain, like I said..inclement weather. 

 

pushing the bin around the back porch

 

I LOVE this picture but I can't clean it up anymore (I was far away and let's face it, I need a new camera)

Soooo Cute

 

I love my Papee!

He is hitched!

That's right my little brother, Bradford Leland Fishback, married Catherine Parker in the Los Angeles temple on November 24, 2009.  It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. We enjoyed the lovely weather that only southern Cali can have right before Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see family.  Taylor loved spending time with his cousins although he did throw himself (literally) into his port-a-crib at the end of the day. It was a tiring but exciting turn of events. 

 

the bride and groom!

 

lovin life

 

Ty just hanging out with a cheesy smile for the camera

 

enjoying some snacks (Brianna especially enjoyed them)

 

Family Group Shot #1:  FAIL

 

Family Group Shot #2:  FAIL

 

Family Group Shot #3: SUCCESS

 

my whole family together!

 

Ty thought it was really cool to match Taylor..whose shirt we took off because it was already REALLY dirty and it had to be worn again later that day

 

Cousins enjoying some tub time at Nana's

SYTYCD Tour November 2009

This was so much fun to see the tour and my favorite dancer from this season, Janette. I will always love you Janette!!! You are the sexiest Miami Latin ballroom dancer. You so deserved to win!! (that sounded a bit dirty but I promise I am not a Lesbian). We had a little dinner get together at my house to kick things off. Yum, stuffed chicago style pizza from Papa Murphy's and some salad and fruit, of course.  Then on to the show and back again with Julie in her truck who drives like a pro! She said Columbia helped her with that.  Afterwards, we chatted a bit more at the house and ate some more fruit. Mmmmm, fruit.  Enough said.

Disclaimer: I stole all of these photos from Tiffany Fagan. So if you are reading this Tiffany, you don't need to go any farther because there is nothing new here for you. 

 

Allison, Julie, and Sheri partaking of the goodies

 

Julie and Me

 

Amanda, Allison, and Megan

 

Sarah and Sheri

 

Got our tickets and ready to go!

 

Our seats!

 

Brandon, the true winner of the season 

(Janette didn't make it to the top two...)

New Moon Premiere November 2009!

Yes, we did the midnight showing..and let me just say that it was totally worth it! This was right after I got my wisdom teeth out so it took me an hour to eat this little 6 inch sub sandwich but it was a blast to chat with everyone and share the experience of seeing Jacob's abs for the first time together.

 

Misty, Amanda, Megan and me

 

Sarah! Gotta love it (and the faces in the background)

Taylor's New Little Friend

Here is Taylor and his new little friend (a cute pug), Xena, the warrior princess. This is the dog that Tyler (Duane's brother) received after his mission. Taylor has so much fun running around and trying to share his snacks with her.

I'm too sexy for my shirt

but not too sexy for SOCKS!

Why are there always things stuck on my bum?

Who knows?

 

P.S. Don't tell Daddy I was playing with the plunger and the toiler brush again!

Distracted much mommy?

So I typically give Taylor something to play with while I am changing his diaper so that he will STAY STILL during the process instead of try to wiggle and turn over naked. Usually it is a cord because Taylor loves cords of any shape or size.  So I remember giving him a cord but I didn't notice this until about 20 minutes later..it was a good laugh. 

 

How did I not notice this when I was putting the diaper on???? Always good for a laugh and it didn't bother him in the least.

Halloween!

We had a great time giving out candy to the kids in our neighborhood.  Some business came up so we make a quick trip to California and back just before it was dark on Halloween night.  We ran out of candy a couple of times and resorted to giving out fruit snacks and goldfish until we were really cleaned out of everything trick-or-treat worthy. Our street rocked in decorations and festivities. We can't wait for next year. As for costumes...Duane and I were official candy dispensers with no costumes. Taylor was a different story. He sported a pair of overalls he already had and a red bandanna. You wouldn't believe the possibilities....we couldn't decide between:

 

a farmer or a...

train engineer or a....

 

bank robber or a...

 

half-blind gangster or a...

 

crazy dancer or just a...

 

a really cute boy who is sick and tired of his mother dressing him a million different ways!

Walking and Church

I forgot to post that Taylor is walking around now. He started to take his first steps about a week before he turned one and now he is unstoppable. It is so cute to see him "toddle" around the house. We are still working on him wearing shoes. So far we just put on socks. It is better for his foot development, right? These are some pictures of his most recent church outfit and him pondering the depths of his book on his way home...

BYU Football Game= Date Night!

This post is not about Taylor. I know it is a shocker. Duane and I were able to go out sans Taylor to the BYU vs. UNLV football game and we loved it! BYU defeated the Rebels soundly and the weather was perfect. Yeah, to date night.

Just Throw It

Taylor is like any boy his age..throwing things and loving it. He especially loves to throw objects off the stairs or off our loft to the downstairs (through our wooden railing). These are his videos to prove his prowess to the ladies when he is dating years from now.

Homecoming and the Monkey Party

We had a trip a little while ago to Oregon so that we could see Tyler (my brother-in-law) give his homecoming talk. Two years has gone by so fast and we are excited to have him back with the fam. He served in the Detroit Michigan mission so you can imagine some of the stories that he told us... pretty crazy! While we were there we had a little monkey birthday party for Taylor. Allan (cousin) was nice enough to take some photos of the party and they are awesome! Click here if you would like to see them (there are a lot so feel free to skip around... this is more for the grandma's)http://alanmusson.smugmug.com/Als-Weekend-2009/Oregon/Grahams-Sept-09/9728121_nWvJ8#658319936_S4WEy

Labor Day Weekend and Birthday Parties!

We had a great time with Nana and Papee over Labor Day Weekend. It was Nana's birthday and Taylor's birthday (later this month) so we had a celebration dinner and cake. My mom and I also got to see a show on the strip. I never knew how many songs of "The Four Seasons" I actually recognize and enjoy listening to. Overall, lots of fun! This is a little video of Taylor eating his cake (excuse all the commentary). It is a little bit long... but gets better towards the end!

Red Rock Canyon

A couple of weeks ago we happened to go to Lake Mead and found out that Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon were both FREE to visit that weekend. So...we went to both and like anything else something is far better and enjoyable when it is free. There were lovely sights to behold and we enjoyed ourselves immensely! We also had a little detour as our little snakey friend decided to make a crossing right in front of us. I seem to be attracting snakes this year...