The Big THREE-O

Yup! Taylor's an old man now! :) Ha! Ha! I get to tease him for two more years, until I'm thirty myself! The funny part is, that I think him turning thirty is more weird for me than it is for him. It must be because I met him when he was seventeen, and honestly, he doesn't look much different to me. They say love is blind, and maybe it's true, but seriously my hubby is cuter to me than he ever was!

Now, as is tradition, here are 10 things I love about Tay:

Warning: If you can't handle mushiness, I suggest you stop reading.

1. His contagious happiness. He never passes up the opportunity to make me smile and/or laugh. His physical humor is the best. (If you haven't seen his crazy dance moves, your really missing out!) He has such a friendly, easygoing, and jolly personality, that you can't help but feel happy around him.

2. His determination to keep the commandments with strict obedience. He is an amazing example to me.

3. He is a phenomenal Dad. Practically perfect, and yet always seeking to improve.

4. Same as #3, only change the word "Dad" to "husband".

5. He has unwavering patience. I've never known someone to keep their cool the way Taylor does. I don't think he's ever really "lost it" in his entire life! (it's almost aggravating, actually... ;)j/k) He is slow to anger, quick to forgive, and I am so grateful for that!

6. He appreciates the value of hard work and a job well done. At the same time, he's not one of those people that lives for the job. Tay works hard so he can play hard, which makes for a lot of fun!

7. Taylor supports me in everything. He never misses a concert or performance, and is always the loudest one cheering. He lets me take on all kinds of new endeavors, and doesn't hassle me when half of them don't work out. Whether it's a realistic idea or not, he never tries to "clip my wings."

8. Taylor is totally in love with his family, and expresses that love so freely. As a result we all adore him.

9. Taylor is an amazing athlete. Whether it's mountain/road biking, basketball, tennis, soccer, or pretty much any other kind of sport, Tay excels. Even if the joints are getting a little rusty ( ha ha ha) he can still give those cocky teenagers a run for their money.

10. He's totally... sexy... and I would expand on that, but this is a public blog, after all. :)

I love you, babe! Happy Birthday! You are still, and always will be, the man of my dreams!!!

Summer Evening (Get ready for some pics!)

I love those Cheeks!

Playing with the ants.

"Cheeeeese!"

My Boyz

Jane looooves Kellen, and he is so sweet to her.

Cuteness!

Such a happy girl.

Reaching for bark pieces--- one of her favorite snacks.

She loves the flowers. Here she is smiling at the big, yellow Lilies.

Mommies Rascal

A New Love

We never thought that we would love gardening so much, but Tay and I have turned into a couple of old geezers, sitting out in the yard every night, looking at the flowers. Our parents gave us some starts and we bought a few things ourselves, and we've just become addicted. We get excited about each new bloom.

I think there is something spiritual about planting things and watching them grow through each stage. A tiny seed, a sprout, a small bud, and finally a beautiful bloom, basking in it's beauty for the sole purpose of making us happy. Just another manifestation of God's love for us.

Here are some of my favorites:

Companiala (No idea how to spell this!)
Tay's Dad gave us this. I love the color!

I don't even know what these ones are called, but aren't they cool? A co-worker gave Taylor a box full of bulbs last year and we planted them, but nothing happened. I guess we did it too late. Well, we dug them up, stored them in the garage all year, and planted earlier this time. I'm sure glad we didn't give up on them, because they have been so fun to watch. You can't really tell from the picture, but they are about 4 feet tall right now, and still shooting up. The leaves are about as big as my head. They look like they belong in the rain forest, but they don't seem to mind this Idaho dry heat.

This amazing Asiatic Lily was just one tiny little stem last year, and now it's HUGE, and so hardy. I love how bright it is. Definitely and eye catcher.

Zinnias
Aren't they cute?

Can't remember what these are called (some kind of Daisy)
They came from T's Parent's yard

Of coarse, there's my Petunias. Aren't they awesome? I lvoe the smell of Petunias, especially after they've just been watered. It takes me back to Disney Land, standing in line for Magic Mountain, smelling the water and heat and flowers. Mmmmmmm.

Best Buddies

My mischief makers.

baby Jane loves to suck on her bottom lip. I call it the Jenny face,
cause it looks just like pictures of Aunt Jenny as a baby. See it, Jenn?

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, glad as I can be!
Clap my hands, and shout for joy, and climb up on his knee!"

Spiderman and Princess - Best Buddies, even in sleep. :)

Backtracking

We all had colds in May, and just felt yucky! I left Tay with the kids while I went to my primary meeting, and this is how I found them when I returned. Notice Jane, fast asleep, sitting up, with milk all over her chin! My poor babies!

Wackiest Birthday Ever!

I have the craziest hubby in the world!
Last week he told me that he would be out of town for a business trip on my birthday, today, so we would do something fun on Saturday. That is all he said so I was expecting to go out to eat or something like that. Well, Saturday came and we spent it just like we always do, cleaning the house, working in the yard, and playing with the kids. At six o'clock, just as I was beginning to get really curious, some friends showed up at the door, and then some more, and some more, and some more! All of them with presents, which totally embarrassed me. I took Taylor aside to chastise him about having people bring me gifts, like I was turning 7 years old, and he said, "Only the best for you, Honey!" He said it with a funny twinkle in his eye, so I knew something was up.
After the guests had all arrived he brought out a big Costco Carrot cake. (Yummo!) He then proceeded to embarrass me by showing our friends pictures of me as a kid! (I don't know what possessed him to do all of this! Tay is a weirdo, what can I say? :)) After some cake and laughing at pics of me in my 80's awesomeness, it was time for presents. Here is a picture of my fabulous loot!

(coming tomorrow! Technical difficulties!)

Yup, these are my presents! Tay told everyone to get me a gag gift so, I've got some Groucho Marx Glasses, three sets of gag teeth, a lovely pair of panties -- size 14 (although they look more like size XXXXL, two punching balloons, two plastic switch-blade knife thingies, a disk gun, a fuzzy jumping spider, some green putty, and a SpongeBob SquarePants paddle-ball. Can it get any better?
Actually it can, because two friends didn't get the gag gift memo, so I also ended up with two bows for Jane, some yummy, home-canned peaches, some cute decorations for my home, and... drum roll please... Tay bought me an ipod! A cute little pink shuffle! What a guy!
After cake we decided to go sing for my neighbor who was also having a birthday. We all put on the gag teeth, the panties (two of us in one pair!), and the glasses-- I brought my fiddle, and we showed up on her doorstep. She got a good laugh.
After that we all headed to Red Robin to share some fancy burgers and fries. (I know, dinner after dessert!? But it was that kind of day!) The Red Robin crew made me stand up, holding a spoon in the air with balloons floating around me while they sang! By now, nothing could embarrass me, so I just smiled and danced.
After Red Robin (yes there is more) we all came home for a wild round of Imaginif.
What a wild and crazy day! I'm not sure why Taylor chose my 28th to go all out, we usually just do something small, like a date night. Actually, that's the way I prefer it, but it was fun to change it up and be surprised like that.
Thanks, Tay! It's fun to be married to a nut like you! You'll always be able to keep me laughing! Also thanks to all my awesome friends! It's great to know that we've come to an area where the people are just as crazy as we are! ;) You are all the best, and we love you!

PS: Taylor's turning 30 in September, so I've reeeeally gotta go all out! Any ideas?

Play Time

GRRRRR!!!!!

Taylor woke me up this morning with a weird question...

"Marie, did you move your snow skis?"

"My snow skis? Huh? What?" (for a second I thought I was still dreaming. It's been in the 90's lately, so why was Tay asking me about my skis?)

"Did you move them?"

"No, why?"

"Cause they're gone. They were right inside the garage door, and now they are gone."

Yup! That's right! We've been robbed! Some not-so-nice-person (I can think of lots of names I would rather use right now, but I'd better not) came and swiped them right out from under me while I snoozed in my bed! I am so mad! I mean, who does that?!

I feel so violated! How can someone just take something that does not belong to them and still sleep at night... or even look themselves in the mirror? I know I never could!

We filed a police report, and apparently someone just around the corner from us was robbed last night as well. I hope it was just a random act of teenage stupidity, and not some adult pro that's scoping out the neighborhood.

The worst part is the wondering. I'm all shook up now, and I don't feel so safe anymore. What if they had come into our house? I actually woke Tay last night at around 2 AM because I thought I heard something. But lets face it! I'm a perinoid mom and I hear EVERYTHING (remember my super human hearing?), so it's no surprise that Tay didn't worry when I said I heard a noise. I say it almost nightly! At first I was bummed that I didn't make Tay go down and check things out, or do it myself for that matter. On second thought though, maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Maybe the phsyco had a gun... who knows?

Our bikes were untouched, which is wierd cause we have nice bikes. I'm guessing it's because our "3 car garage" barely fits our van and Honda, so the bikes were squeezed in behind the car. This has always been an annoyance to me, but now I'm grateful because it kept them safe.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that fun piece of info with you.

GRRRRRRR!!!!! Deep breaths, Marie... inhale.... exhale.... inhale.... exhale....

We're Back!

I haven't been posting lately. The hard drive on our little laptop crashed, so I didn't have access to the computer for a little while. I must say it was kind of nice in some ways. I seemed to accomplish more random things that I might not have gotten to if I'd had the computer to fall back on. Still, I missed reading about all of you. It's been so nice to be in touch.
For those of you who actually read, here's a little update...
Taylor has been working to get the yard in. We are hoping to get grass and a fence out back ASAP. It will be so awesome to have a safe place for Kellen to run free while I stay inside getting stuff done. Plus, we can have friends over for food and games and the kids can just go wild. I'm also hoping for a garden this summer. Lots to do! We'll see! Tay has been awesome. He put the whole sprinkler system in all by himself with no experience to help him. It was a huge undertaking, and I so appreciate all of his hard work! Thanks, Babe!
I've actually been doing a lot with music lately, which has been nice. I sing with an all female choir called Musettes. At first I wasn't so sure about the group. It's a show choir... yeah... not really my thing. I just really wanted to get involved in something musical again and this opportunity presented itself. Despite my initial doubts, I have been pleasantly surprised. The ladies are all so fun, the music is a blast, and yes, I'm even getting into the dancing a little bit! I know I look absolutely ridiculous, but I don't care! Recently the Musettes had a panel of prestigious judges come to listen to us inividually for evaluations and an opportunity to win voice lessons. I haven't found out the results yet, but the experience of auditioning was fabulous. It felt just like old times. Even my singing felt smooth and easy, which shocked me. A tender mercy from the Lord, I think.
I've also started up teaching again. Voice mostly, but also five piano students, and soon I'll have several violin students, so I've worked up quite the clientele! The hard part is getting really organized, which I must do to make it work! I've been hesitant about teaching for some time. It seemed too hard to balance once Kellen came along, but things are so different now. I'm ready to take on more and it actually makes me feel more balanced. Taylor teases me because a lot of my students don't actually pay me... with money. One family offers babysitting, which rocks because it's a family with four girls, all home-schooled, so I have free sitting any time! One friend is going to start bringing me dinners in exchange for violin lessons. Another is helping me coupon in exchange for voice lessons! Cool stuff! It's like the law of consecration, right?
Kellen has been such a good boy lately. He tells me he "wuvs" me several times a day, and I never tire of hearing it. He has such a great sense of humor and a happy demeanor. I don't know what I'd do without my little Buddie to keep me laughing! His newest phrase is, "Mom, I so hungwee!" He says it all day long! This is coming from the kid we would call "Anorexic Boy", so he must be having a serious growth spurt. The best part is that he's eating a much better variety of foods. I'd been told that kids go through picky stages (Kellen's "stage" lasting two, out of his three years of life!), and that I just needed to continue offering those "yucky" foods. I did as I was told, and I'm so glad! It's like all at once he likes everything we put in front of him! His latest discovery is strawberries! How he ever disliked them is beyond me, but it's all good now!
Jane will not be so picky, I think. She is already showing way more interest in food than Kellen ever did! She gets all excited at dinner time, kicking her feet and breathing fast, hoping she'll get a taste. Thanks to Daddy, she usually does! It reminds me of a puppy, plaintive eyes and all. She's not even six months old yet, and has already been sitting up on her own for about 7 weeks. It must be all the chub giving her extra support! :) She coos and squeals and giggles all day long. My heart does flips just thinking about her. She's such a sweetheart, and never gives us any trouble. She's truly an angel.
So, there's a "little" update! Feel free to go take a nap now! ;)

Happy Valentines Day!

Answer the following questions about your sweetheart...

*What is your significant other's name? Taylor Carl Rasmussen

*How long have you been married? 71/2 years

*How long did you date? We dated for about one year before Taylor's mission, and wrote on a regular basis while he was gone. We got engaged shortly after his return (about a month and a half) and were married five months later. SO... if you count the mission (even though I dated other people, had boyfriends, etc. etc. etc. :)) then we dated for about 4 years.

*How old is he? 29... the big 3O in September! He, he! :)

*Who eats more sweets? TAYLOR! And yet, he stays nice and slim! NO FAIR!

*Who said I love you first? Taylor. It was so sweet!

*Who is taller? Definitely Tay. He is a whopping 6'3, and has me by a whole foot! It makes for a good kink in the neck once in a while, but I still love it! He makes me feel small, even when I'm a gigantic pregnant lady!

*Who can sing best? Me, I suppose, but I have had some training, and a lot of practice! ;) Taylor has a beautiful voice, especially when he thinks no one is listening, and he lets loose.

*Who is smarter? I think we are both smart, it totally depends on the subject. I guess if I had to pick one over the other I'd pick... Taylor. Oh, that one hurt! Don't get too big-headed Tay! ;)

*Who does laundry? I do most of it, but Taylor sure does his fair share. He washes a lot of his own stuff, and folds a lot too. He is a big help when it comes to housework.

*Who pays bills? Tay takes care of the online bills, and I do the rest. It's split pretty evenly.

*Who sleeps on the right hand side? I do right now, but it's changed a lot. I always sleep closest to the exit and/0r bathroom. You know, pregnancy, babies, and all that jazz.

*Who mows the lawn? Taylor, and he looks pretty hot doing it!

*Who cooks dinner? I do, which surprises people, since Tay is a food scientist. He claims he has some pretty sweet cooking skills, but is too sick of cooking by the time he gets home. He totally helps out with dinner all of the time by putting together what I've laid out etc., but as for these mysterious skills he has, I'm still waiting to see that! I only pretend to care. :) I like to cook for him, and especially when he takes clean up, which he usually does. He's so great! Maybe he really is an amazing chef, but he doesn't want to show me up and make me feel bad! I've never thought of that before...

*Who drives? We take turns, but usually Tay. He likes it, and I don't, so it works out! He's safer on the road, I totally admit it! I'm a little bit crazy, with quite the led foot...

*Who is first to admit they are wrong? It depends on our moods. We are both quick to apologize when we've done something wrong. I probably do it more often, but that's just because I usually have more to apologize for. I'm a wee bit... fiery sometimes. :)

*Who kissed who first? Tay went in for the kill, and I had no idea he was going for it. He sort of missed at first, but I quickly remedied that situation.

*Who asked who out first? Tay called me to go ice blocking down Old Main Hill. Dan Preece, Liz Ambrose (Granados), Ben Haslem, and Jenn Eck (Craw) were with us, and we all had a blast. I wore some cute jeans that got totally ruined, but it was worth it. I had a stomach ache that night from laughing so hard.

*Who wears the pants? Taylor and I are a team, for sure. We make big and small decisions together. Taylor does preside over our little family, though, and I love it. I rarely have to remind him to take the initiative in family prayer, scripture study, or FHE. If he were to put his foot down on something, I would trust him with whatever that was. He is very selfless.

TAG to anyone that wants to write about their Valentine!!

SUPER DAD!

I just have to say that I am so blessed to have a husband like Taylor. He is so good to me and the kids. He gets up early every day to drive to work in the cold, dark morning, and comes home tired from a long day. But instead of crashing on the couch, he picks up both kids and gives them his full attention so I can finish dinner preparations, or just have a moment to myself. He puts Kellen to bed every night, putting on his pajamas, brushing his teeth, reading books, saying prayers , and singing songs. To me there is nothing sweeter than listening to Taylor sing sweet hymns and primary songs to our little boy. I always thought I would be the one to sing the lullabies to the kids, and sometimes I even feel a little bit jealous, but I know that this special time with Dad will mean a lot to our kids for years to come. He loves his kids so much, and I'm grateful that he is able to so tenderly express that without any inhibitions.

Us

Sorry, no recent family shots! We'll get updated soon.