Braces!!

Someone made the big jump to preteen-hood.... Kaitlyn has braces!! And glasses!!

2015

Its already January and its 2015!! Kaitlyn is in her last year of elementary school, and the twins are in class together again in 2nd grade. We spent the end of 2014 fixing up the house and making improvements. It looks and functions beautifully! We also had the Christmas lights hung, I was so hesitant to ever take them down!! It was so festive and pretty <3 p="">Matt and I ran in a 5 miler Jingle Bell run. It was fun, but I didnt run the whole thing. I started training to run the whole quarter marathon in February, and was doing pretty good too, then came down with a gnarly stomach issue turned infection. This being the second time in a year, I have been sent to a GI doc. Will see what happens there. Im happy because Ive lost 10 pounds, but its a bummer that I can't eat without pain anymore.
Kaitlyn is into sewing and quilting. Its pretty awesome. Her Grammy is really excited and sent her some money to get started. I got my Nana's sewing stuff so we can both learn how to do it together. It should be a pretty fun endeavour with my eldest.
I also got caught up in a book series that is 8 books long and 800+ pages each! Outlander is a book series my grandmother used to read and is my favorite series of all time now! They started showing it on Starz too, Mimi would have loved that. They did a great job in casting. Diana Gabaldon is currently working on her next book for 6million!
This year we are set up for many weddings, concerts, and trips....I am excited to get back into running and be healthier. I would love to lose a few more pounds and enjoy the trips that much more! We also have big plans for the girls birthdays over spring break. They are going to be so surprised!!!

Summer 2014

This summer was pretty awesome. We didnt get to go to Cali last year because we went to Hawaii, so we spent a whole month there this year!! We spent lots of time at the beach and took in two Dodger games while Matt was on his 2 week vacation! That was a big deal in itself because he never gets that much time off. We even got a weekend without kids to go camping and kayaking at Lake Cachuma with Kim and Keith and Kristen and Shane. That was really fun and changed my mind about camping. When Daniel showed up during the World Cup madness we went to Magic Mountain. I was worried the kids wouldnt like roller coasters, but they were champs!!

Then Mom and Dad showed up with the Barrios crew. We went to Disneyland and California Adventure in an epic one day crazy run all over the parks adventure! It was all to celebrate Emmalene's 5th birthday...she wanted to meet Elsa!!

The picture of Brooke and Eeyore is one of my favorites. We like to call her that as a nickname because at times she can be quite melancholy for no good reason. The picture turned out adorable! I had never been to California adventure and it was a lot of fun! We ate at ESPN zone and took a break in the middle of the day. The kids made it to the very end and were rewarded with a spray bottle, Eeyore doll, and an Elsa/Anna doll. They were troopers....we were there from opening to closing!! The littles even went on Tower of Terror!!! Cars was a fabulous ride and its understandable why there is always a 110+ minute wait. Fast pass is one of the best inventions ever!!! 

Finally we spent the rest of the trip getting reaquainted with family. We dont get to see them much, and the kids love that they are the same age as their cousins. We also got in some grandma time. Papa took some time off work to visit, hike and go to a Dodger game which was awesome. 

2014 and bdays

I promised to keep this blog going....and Ive been bad this year.
In 2014 my sister started out the year with us, and Leila went to BHE with KBB. They bought a house about 5  min from us here in Seven Meadows in a community called Westheimer Lakes.

They come over lots though and the girls love being so close to each other!

For the twins 7th birthday we had a roller skating party and then took them to Dallas to see Imagine Dragons!!

They fell asleep which was a bummer, but we woke them up to hear Radioactive. It was a great concert, Matt and I saw them in The Woodlands as well. An amazing band with a great future!! The twins and Kaitlyn liked Medieval times more. We were the red knight!

For Kaitlyn's 10th birthday this year we went to Main Event. She invited the girls from her class. I figure its the last year she will want a big party. She is growing up so fast. She used to be into pink and princess, but all she wanted for her bday this year was black decor for her room.

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was big and special at the Taylor house. My sis is living with me at the moment and everything is bigger when there are 9 people living together! I also hosted my annual Christmas dinner for the family. It was bigger than just my parents this year....my sis and crew and brother were all here! 
The girls loved their presents from Santa. The twins got iPods and KK got a rock tumbler and a guitar. Oma got her her very own iPad! She got the twins Disney Imagine. We got the girls tickets to Imagine Dragons, tennis rackets, and arts n crafts. They were so spoiled and thrilled!!
After all the present opening, we had smoked ham, brisket and salmon. Matt got a new smoker for Christmas and was super stoked to try it out. Dinner turned out great! Dad brought over some magnificent wine that was super delicious.
The adults sat out on the porch and enjoyed the fire pit while the kids explored their new toys. It was so great to have the family back together again.
For Christmas we also went to the zoo lights event at the houston zoo which was super crowded but beautiful. The kids loved the glow bracelets and how different the zoo looked at night!
We also went to see the Nutcracker Ballet the weekend after Christmas. The girls LOVED it! We were in the first row so they had wonderful seats to take in the show. It was such an amazing experience!!

The girls are settling into their sports skills

The girls have finally started to find their gifts in sports. Brooke is our little soccer star. She especially loves her coach this year, her Daddy! They have created quite a bond, and its awesome that Matt is around now to be able to do it. Brooke really likes playing defense, and loves being goalie. This year she is in a league that doesn't have goalies, but next year she will get her chance!
Braelynn is our tiny dancer. She is in gymnastics, jazz and ballet. It looks like she will be the only one to be a dancer, as the other two girls dropped out. Braelynn really likes it though and has a lot of grace and rhythm. Ms. Hitt really likes her too. She is so shy Im curious to see how she does without her sisters during recital. At least she will have her cousins.
Kaitlyn is the gymnast. She has officially given up all other sports in pursuit of tumbling. She wants to start competing. She has done so well on her back handsprings and Braelynn is following right behind!
Im so proud of my girls. They are doing an amazing job.

Back to School...

Sara and Justin moved down here to Houston and stay with us which has been busy but tons of fun! Leila started kindergarten and gets to go to school with Kaitlyn, who is in 4th now, and Brooke and Braelynn who are in 1st. The twins are in separate classes this year which is a new challenge. Brooke knew 2 people in her class, whereas Braelynn kinda knew one. Kaitlyns teachers moved from 2nd to 4th, and are going to be awesome! We are ready for a great year and look forward to next year when KK rules the school and lil Em's gets to go to Kinder!