Summer Is Here!

It's our last chance to enjoy the warm weather before it gets too hot, so we've been going to the park, having picnics, flying kites, blowing bubbles, etc. Soon we'll have to turn on the AC, but until then we're loving the fresh air. We're excited to be moving in 6 weeks so we won't have to be here when the heat is scorching.

Family Friends Food

My three favorite things. And it was fun to have them all on Chrissy (Duck Duck) and Edith's last night of their 10 day visit. That was about a week before Easter. We went to Claim Jumper (Garrett's favorite) where the portions are HUGE. It fit the stereotype for my Asian friends. Everything is HUGE in the United States. The people, houses, food portions, etc. Ha, ha.

Happy Easter!

Zaney

He always has silly little toes curled. Always.



He can't quite figure out how to get food into his mouth yet, but there's nothing like a good finger.



Chrissy (Duck Duck) feeding him breakfast.



Here he is showing off his 4 pearly whites. No top teeth yet. Reminds me of a piranha.

Ni Hao!

12 years ago I started writing a girl from Hong Kong who went by Duck Duck (Her Chinese name Tak Yuk sounds very similar). It was the year of the rat, signifying a new beginning. This year the cycle brings us full circle to the year of the rat again and we finally meet!!!

It has been fun to have her and her sister come visit us. Zane has decided to start crawling just for them. Jette Lynn laughs with them all day. And they even got her to say, "Ni hao." (Hi)

Here we are at The Venetian doing the tourist thing.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My New Favorite Song

I can't get it out of my head.

We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet

President Gordon B. Hinckley
1910-2008

Crazy Kids!

Jette Lynn puts everything on her head.
Zane puts everything in his mouth.

Weather Forecast

Rory's forecast for Vegas:
Sunny, windy, dusty.

I'm not envious of most of our family who are receiving a TON of snow this week. In fact, I'm almost nauseous that we are moving from one extreme to the other. I could probably write up a list of the pros and cons of living in the heat or the cold and get an even list.

But we'll take the snow, autumn colors, mild summers, and fresh air over the 8 months of extreme heat and 4 months of wind and dust here in Vegas.

Just 3 1/2 months!!!

This is the park next door to my dad's house in Utah.

Translations

I've noticed most 2 year olds need their parents around to help others decipher what they're saying. Jette Lynn's no different. In fact, sometimes I don't even know what she's saying. After several attempts she helps me guess what word she's saying. Ha, ha. Some examples are:

fiffet=different, diddle=little, fuh-fun-doh=marshmellow, timing=climbing, musimuc=music,

I was singing "Row Your Boat" and she lowered her head and sadly said, "My tan't whoa." (I can't row) HA!

Here she is "timing."

All Myself

A big fan of the swing, here Jette Lynn shows off her latest "all myself." She put her shoes on, obviously. Ha, ha.

First Tooth!

After 3 days with a fever and lots of crying Zane's left bottom tooth has broken through. Whew! What an ordeal. We're NOT looking forward to the rest of them coming in. Sigh. His new thing is sticking his tongue out and blowing bubbles. Anything to make a mess.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle

We like holiday treats even after the holidays.

2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.


NOTE: I only did half the recipe for my trifle dish (pictured above) I know it's not the prettiest, but I'm learning.

The Children's Museum

Last weekend we took Jette Lynn to The Children's Museum. She's a little too young for most of the activities, but with daddy showing her around she had lots of fun. Have you ever wondered what a million pennies looked like? Me neither, but here's a picture of it.

6 month Zane

Next week Zane will be six months! He weighs in now at 19.2 lbs. His pediatrician says he's the size of a nine month old. Our little Chubba Bubba.

Christmas Wish...

All Jette Lynn really wanted for Christmas was a
snowman. She got her wish even if it was a tiny one.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the new year.

One Down One To Go

Rory had his last final today! Somehow with 2 kids, no sleep, work, church, homework, projects and whatever else he passed all his classes with A's and B's. I'm so proud of him. We are SO happy he is done with his last fall semester at UNLV. One semester down, one to go.

Sundays

It's always fun dressing up the tiny ones for church. Thanks Grandma LOL for the cute dress and boots.





















After a mad dash to try and get the four of us to church by 9am, we are usually pretty exhausted when we get home. On this particular Sunday we just crashed in between visits and apppointments rather than honor our usual afternoon of "family nap time." Aren't Sundays great?

Happy Thanksgiving!

There's nothing like homemade pies. Rory made an apple pie and a peach pear pie and I made the rolls for Thanksgiving at my brother's place. We weren't too sad that everyone was full from dinner. More for us!

I found a 20 lb. turkey for five bucks the other day and we were able to have a Thanksgiving feast for dinner Friday night and again last night complete with homemade stuffing baked IN the turkey, rolls, candied sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy. We made everything from scratch. We still have SO much turkey left. I guess we'll be having turkey enchiladas, turkey soup, etc. YUM!!!! I love to eat! It's a cruel enjoyment as I'm STILL trying to lose baby weight. Oh who am I kidding. I'm not really trying. The story of my life as said best by the Gap Girls on SNL, "Diet starts Monday!"

Debate

Hey all,
If you watch CNN between 5pm and 7pm Pacific you may see me partying with Hellary Clinton and Obama Bin Laden. I got randomly selected as 1 of 100 UNLV students to attend the Democratic Presidential Debate which is at UNLV tonight. No, I'm not converting to the dark side, but I thought it will probably be interesting to attend. I'll be the one in the background making faces at the camera and getting tackled by a 300 pound Secret Service Agent. Should be fun.

See you in TV land,
Rory

Happy Halloween!

Rory's Online Portfolio

We're excited Rory's down to his last 7 months in the 5 year Landscape Architecture Program here at UNLV. He's already applied to some Architect Firms in Utah and overseas in the UK. We're excited to see where the next phase of life takes us. Here is the link to his online portfolio. Check it out.

http://www.rbtaylorportfolio.com

Jette Lynn and Zane

Jette Lynn loves to make silly faces and we thought we'd share some with you. We've been teaching her how many fingers to hold up when asked how old she is. She's been busy practicing. She always has need for a diaper wipe to soothe an owie or clean up a mess (real or invisible). I got out a jacket for fun the other day and she loved putting her hands in the pockets and having the hood on. Since the weather has been in the high 70's we're still wearing summer clothes. In other baby news Zane has started holding his head up. He has lost his newborn voice and now gurgles and cries with more of a baby boy voice. Did I mention he cries? A LOT. He also gets to use whatever blanket is nearest, sometimes a nice pink one...poor kid.

3 month old Zane

Happy Birthday Jette Lynn

A Shout Out to Jake and Erin

The Thursday before General Conference, Jake and Erin were in town. We met them at The Hard Rock Cafe for lunch (sorry guys, the food was overpriced and not so good). Then they came over later and as always we talked, laughed, and cried (just kidding) until someone looked at the clock and noticed it was close to midnight. What? That only happens with the best of friends. As we always say, "Why can't they live closer?" We miss you guys!

Company Picnic

Last Saturday was Rory's company picnic. There was food, a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals, a water balloon toss, etc. All Jette Lynn wanted to do was play on the slide. When we tried to get her to come eat with us she said, "No sanks" (no thanks) and went back to playing. We had to drag her away, kicking and screaming, until she realized there were cookies involved with lunch. Then she forgot all about the slide and was just fine the rest of the day. Later she had fun playing at the mall.