An Odd Love ...

Evan wakes up in the morning and cries and cries and cries until I put shoes on him. He is obsessed with them. He would wear them 24-7 if we would let him. This day I put on some moccasin boots and he would NOT take them off.


What, Mom? You like shoes too!


Away with my tractor!

Prom Night!

Our Senior ... Our Prom Queen ... Our Taylor.

(Click collage to enlarge!)

Other Prom Shots ...

Here comes the fire truck!

Uncle Jim inviting Evan on the fire truck.

Pretty cool.

Now, these are BIG tires!

Touch it!

Feet in the water.

Daddy & Evan.

Evan & Morgan.

(These were all shots from picture destinations for Taylor's Prom ...)

Fun at the Barker's

Playing with my dump truck!

*******************

DUCKS!

Mommy: "Here's some bread for the ducks, Evan."


Evan: "Hmmm ... haven't had a snack yet. Hmmm ... the ducks are probably hungry for a snack, too. What to do ... what to do,"

"The ducks can have the next piece!"

Fun With Bug-Z

Snuggling in a bed that is already too small for Bug-Z himself.

I will let you decide the caption just by looking at Bug-Z's face! I am going to guess he is praying to someone to get this kid out of his bed.

I just want to lay down with you, Bug-Z.

Cute and Cuter.

Any Foodies Around?

So ... Tony and I braved the torrential weather today and attended the Top Chef tour at Market Street. I was SO excited because I am a HUGE Top Chef fan. Although some may say I am just a reality show fan, I am truly a TC fan. We got to see a cooking demonstration by Casey Thompson with Tre Wilcox (pictured) as her assistant. Personally, I would have preferred it the other way around, but I enjoyed it. We got to taste the food that was made. She made a fresh Thai salad with rice noodles, calamari, tomatoes, cucumbers, and purple onions all tossed in a sweet & spicy dressing. I liked it, but Tony wasn't a fan of it. However, she also made an incredible cheese that I can't remember the name of, but when I figure it out, I am going to post the recipe for it. It was so YUMMY! After it was over, we got to take pictures and they signed autographs. It was a neat experience for a little ol' housewife like me!

Thank you Ms. Barbara & Grammie for taking shifts watching Evan while we were gone!

This was our quick Easter egg hunt yesterday evening. Evan still wasn't feeling well, but we dressed him up and hoped for the best. He did pretty good ... a little cranky, but he enjoyed being outside with everyone. Nana & Steve Pa, Mr. Jim & Ms. Barbara, and Grammie & Paw Paw enjoyed the fun also. When Evan was done, he had a good time playing with his toys Nana & Steve Pa gave him for Easter. Just a note for when you make the collage bigger by clicking on it ... look at the random curls in his hair. He's definitely got a little Taylor in him! Enjoy them now because Daddy will have them cut off next week!

Happy Easter!

Well, the Easter Bunny brought us a sick toddler in the night, so our day has been low key and quiet ... aside from the sneezes and a runny nose! We did run over to Grammie & Paw Paw's so Evan could see what the Easter Bunny left for him there. How do you like his Easter basket? He can sit in it!

Wow! Two new monster trucks, three new books, a huge Easter Bunny, beach toys, bubbles, cookies, crackers, an enormous pinwheel, and a gigantic pool!

and a balloon Mommy couldn't get in the picture!

Thanks so much Grammie & Paw Paw ... I mean Easter Bunny!

Maybe we will get to hunt eggs this evening.

Happy Easter to all!

Another Funny One ...

Although the funny is cut short when he spots pizza!

Newfound Love ...

Evan has a newfound love of trains. Steve & Ashley gave him these really cool wood trains for his birthday and I put them away in his closet until he got a little older. I opened them up last week and he has been in heaven since that moment. We always have a train with us now!

Guess we know what Evan will get for his birthday this year ... a train table!

Barker's to the Rescue!

We had a couple of days last week in need of rescue and as usual, our wonderful Barker's were there to save us.

First, Nichole, Luke, Evan and I were out playing in the yard and all of the sudden Nichole goes into panic mode. As I turned around to see what was wrong, I saw a big snake worming his way through the rocks around the flower bed. As our luck would have it, Ms. Barbara just pulled up to visit and she jetted back home to get Mr. Jim. Nichole ran inside with the boys and I was left to watch it to make sure it didn't get away. Although it turned out to not be a threatening snake, we were definitely glad Mr. Jim came and took care of him. Whew!

Then, the next day was no different. Just like any other toddler, Evan is super curious and loves to get in the bathroom and mess with everything he can. So, we always keep the doors shut just to keep busy little hands out of trouble. Well, on this day I went to brush my teeth and do my morning ritual and what do you know, somehow the door locked when we shut it last and I couldn't get it open. I tried to get it unlocked, but had no luck. We have two other bathrooms, but neither have my contacts, toothbrush, shower supplies, or medicine. And of course, I desperately needed an allergy pill that morning! So, what do I do ... call up the Barker's Rescue Service. This is what we got:

Team Barker to the rescue!

A few minutes later, the door was open. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(AND by the way ... Happy Anniversary!)

Anywhere Chair ...

Evan got his first Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids and he LOVES it. He reads his books in it and lounges in it. He will climb in it, sit back, rest for a few seconds, and he's off again!

Thanks Mommy & Daddy!

This look was just too sweet to pass up!

Family...

We had a family get together at Grammie & Paw Paw's last weekend to visit with Uncle Jerry who was in from Virginia. Evan got to visit with my cousin's little boys and they practiced their Easter egg hunting!

Ashton and his eggs.

Evan with his (and his famous serious look).

Jonathan with his eggs.

Ready to hunt again!


Evan taking Uncle Jerry to see the dogs next door.


Paw Paw wearing Uncle Earl's cowboy hat.

Uncle Joel snoozing.

Paw Paw was teasing the boys with the remote control fireplace. They thought they could touch the glass and the fire would start.

This was the funniest moment of the day! After a long while, Jonathan realized the fireplace was two sided and he could see the other room from his side. I wish I had a picture of his initial reaction ... it was priceless.

Easter Bunny!

Evan LOVED the Easter Bunny!


Hard to believe the difference a year makes!