Who's who?

Yesterday we had a great time deciding who was going to school. I said to Stephen, "Get ready for school." he says, "No! I'm sick. I can't go to school!" Then I turn to Dallas and tell him, "You are sick and will be staying home today." He says, "No! I'm not that sick!" In the end they both ended up at school. Good thing, because we had auditions to go to and the older kids would not enjoy waiting. We waited for a VERY long time for our turn, about an hour and half. The boys did a great job, but Lily froze up. She is so adorable and didn't want anyone else to know. She wouldn't look at the camera or talk to them or anything. Oh well.

We had fun making new friends in the waiting room. I don't know why no one else brought anything to entertain their kids while they waited. We were the only ones with a bag, books, etc. I think some brought a snack, but I was reading to lots of kids that weren't mine and other moms borrowed my books. Stephanie was a wonderful sister and went with me. She also brought a bag for entertaining the kids. Good thing Grandma was able to get Stephen from school too!

The funniest part was when I showed Stephanie the pictures. (It's okay I told her I was going to blog about this. But in her defense, I apologize I can't post the pictures today.) She looked at the first one and said, "Oh! I didn't notice before, he's got a bit of Evan in him. Look at his eyes." I said, "That is Evan."

A step back

Once in a while I am able to take a small step back and just watch the family in amazement, or humor, or both. Today I had a moment. During dinner, this is what I saw.

Brenden was sitting to my left, painting with his soup on the table. I said, "In your mouth Brenden. It's for eating." "Noooo, ha ha, no!" His artwork spread and I did not stop him. He was happy and the table was already dirty.

Next to him Evan was saying, "Ook Mommy! I eat it!" Followed by a bite with sound effects - ahummummumm! Neither Brenden or Evan were sitting in their chairs, they were kneeling, but close enough.

Lily was walking around the table trying to find water, which was really milk. She brought her cup to me and burst into tears when I said, "I don't have it. Daddy does." I think all she heard was I don't, translating to no for her.

The next spot at the table was for Stephen, but he was busy dancing to some tune left over in his head from the T.V. show that ended just before dinner. He got his groove on next to the table, coming back now and then for a bite.

Dallas was being a trickster, trying to tease and move dishes around. His dinner ended up not being touched at all until bedtime.

Daddy was getting whines from Marek, with his big lower lip. Daddy told Marek he needed to have more of his sandwich before he could have whatever he was asking for. He took a bite so small that if it were a crumb a mouse might not be able to find it.

At this point, Brenden starts to cry and jumping to the floor whines, "Mine hands! Mine hands are dirty! I ave soup on mine hands! AAAhhhhh!!!" Sob - sniffle. Off he runs - Hurry catch that boy before he touches something! My moment is over, but it was a fun one.

Wrestle Mania!

Sorry about the Blurry pictures, but these were taken from my cell phone. This is Shelly again, these are the wrestling pictures from the crazy photo shoot day. I think the winner is Lily!

Here are the Crazy's!

This is Shelly, Lydia asked me to post the pictures from our wild outing getting the Quad's pictures taken. Brenden is such a cutie, he doesn't look wild here, and he was probably the calm one in the bunch that day.
Evan Lily and Shelly. Dallas wanted to take the picture for me.
Don't let this sweet innocent look fool you, she has a wild side to her. She even tipped over a tree that was in the room.
Dallas and Marek were probably the craziest ones that day. They were showing me how to shake your butt the right way...(Did you know there was a right way to shake your butt?)

This is just cute pic of the boys.... they look innocent right? Just remember looks can be deceiving....

Ok, I have to say that the kids were a little wild on this particular day, but they are not and were not terrible kids..... Of course I get to give them back when I am done with them!:) I am a very proud aunt, and I love all 6 of the Taggart kiddos.

Learning Tact Honestly, Dallas

My brilliant 6 year old son, Dallas, was 9 pounds 13 ounces when he was born. In all his wisdom he asked me, "Mommy, if I was such a fat baby and now I am skinny, how come you're still fat when all the kids are out and they are skinny? I mean, sort of a little bit fat. Not that you're fat, but you aren't very skinny... and why was I so fat when I was a baby?" The only answer I could think of while we were rushing to our wherever we were going and trying not to be late was, "Just because. That's the way it is for now. I should exercise more."

That same sweet boy, with all his intelligence, has been a part of a study group. At Waterford they are trying to see how learning is affected by different arrangements, such as math first then reading, reading alone or combined at the same time with learning math, and so on. They are using the computer primarily in Dallas's group. A while ago Dallas started saying he didn't want to go and it was boring. I told the "teacher" Ms. Marg. (- who we totally love by the way.) She said she would watch him and maybe move him ahead in the program. Time passed and we discovered he was in fact clicking at random and not paying attention to the activity the computer was asking for. She had Dallas read to her and she moved him ahead a level, saying it was still probably not on his level but she couldn't really move him more at the time.

She has been great at watching him and asking him how he likes things. She moved him again to level three. Then she asked him, "How's this one Dallas?" "Oh, fine." "If you didn't like it would you tell me?" "No." Then Ms. Marg told me that they really couldn't do anything more for him. That was as high as their program went. She still thinks it is not on his level.

We just finished reading a great book. "Frindle" is a chapter book about a boy in the 5th grade who learns how words are made and get into the dictionary. He decides to test it out and creates the word frindle, which means pen. His English teacher opposes him and every kid in the school misses at least one word on the spelling test each week. They spell pen: F-R-I-N-D-L-E. Dallas cracked up laughing "They spell pen, frindle! Ha ha ha ha!" He loved the book until the very last part where it mentions "5th grade" again with only a few pages left. Dallas was furious, "This book is only for Stephen! It doesn't have any kindergartners in it! It's just for old kids!" Never mind that Stephen is only in 2nd grade. Dallas makes me laugh every day.

Lastly, today our great big three year old Brenden and Evan are in a primary class together and will be giving their first talk/prayer next week. I can't believe they are old enough for this public speaking opportunity already! This most likely will translate to me giving a brief talk while they stand next to me.

Here's to saying things in a polite way!

Free event!!!

I love free stuff! Here is a copy of what was sent to me. Wish I checked my email more often.

* Everybody know??
This Sat, Feb 7, 10am to 1pm
FREE family fun and fitness/Go RED day. Boondocks inflatables, Hollywood connection mini golf, My Gym tumbling, Young Chefs cooking, Grizzlies Hockey, Big 5, Utah Olympic Oval speed skating, Redwood Rec wii, Axis Dance performance, Martial Arts World Demo, Global Skooters, Origami Lady Crafts, Jugglers---and more. Everyone is setting up games for you and yours to come play. Tons of prizes, $150 plush/stuffed animals, year family pass to olympic oval, kiddie kandids portrait package, nothing bunt cakes $$$, whole foods $$$....it's going to be tons of fun. Scavenger Hunt, 3k Walk, I'm so excited.

Invite tons of friends/families, pass along this email, put it on your blog.....We want a huge turn out.

too bad I won't be there this time, but I thought everyone should know about this FREE event!
Here is their info. This is not me, it's them.

Contact Us

info@utahkidsclub.com

683-7323

busy week, pictures and getting kicked out?!?!

We had a busy week! So busy it's turning into more than a week. We had pictures taken of our four on Thursday morning, scheduled on Wednesday. A great planner I am! I am! They were early in the morning so we enlisted help from friends to let Stephen over before school started and sister Shelly met us there. We rushed to get Dallas to school after, and then Steve and I took all the kids back with us after work to choose the best ones. Shelly offered to stay longer, but it was good that she didn't. It took us nearly 2 hours to look at all of them and pick just two for each child. They are so stinking cute! I saw Lily make faces that I haven't caught on her at home before. Even Brenden was pretty good at it. While they were waiting for their turn, they played in another room while Aunt Shelly took pictures of them. I am sure she can add some here for me, please???? They now have updated portfolios, just in time for the next "audition" which will be in a few weeks. That was a day!

Friday we got ourselves invited to not return to a place that will remain nameless no matter how much you pry. "Unless I can come with out the kids. Won't my husband get home from work in time?" No. He never will, unless they extend their hours of operation by a few. Lives were threatened, but the kids still ran in the parking lot. They were so out of control! I thought we just TOLD them we would not be able to go places if they didn't behave! I found out today that the person who invited us to leave is no longer with the company. I still don't know if I feel like going back. Now I just feel bad for getting her fired.

I asked if I was over reacting. "No. I just don't think it's that big of a deal." So, I would like to know what the difference is.

In other news, I now have two clean spots in my house. One is on top of the bookshelf where I have finally taken the Christmas pile of stuff down and put up a nice fake tree with a porcelain doll my friend made. It's up high and un-disturb-able as far as I know. It looks great! The other is the floor in front of the refrigerator. This is where the water keeps getting "spilled" and mopped. I can't count high enough to get to how many times we have "mopped" there this week! A nice un-sticky spot. It looks great too!

And now, we are off to our next adventure at the park!