The Best Laughter

I come home from work on Thursday and this what I see. Chris is standing behind the wall and the kids are running around the corner and he scares the living daylights out of them. Their laughter is priceless. At this point, Kate sort of expects it, but she still gets very spooked as she would say. My children's laughter brings me to such a great place!

Children's Museum

Today I took the kids to the children's museum with Aunt Kelly and Abby, Maggie, and Sean. We had not seen each other in so long. Kate had been begging to go see them, but with school it has been really hard to get together. We met Aunt Kelly at her house and began to load up. As we were loading Maggie turns to me and says, "Aunt Chrissy, look there is a police officer. Did you know that you can pay them a lot of money and they will take your picture?" Needless to say I think that the speed cameras have caught someone in their house a few times! It was priceless and gave us all a good laugh. We stopped and got some lunch so that we could take it into the museum with us. We all ate and surprisingly Connor actually sat in his high chair without throwing a fit. After lunch it was playtime! We started with the noodle forest, the ice cream stand, and the grocery store. The kids had so much fun! The girls loved standing behind the ice cream stand and serving anyone and everyone who would come up to them. Then it was off to the pizza kitchen and the ball room. Sean and Connor had so much fun in the ball room. It is amazing how kids can be so entertained by balls rolling down tubes! The girls served Kelly and I many delicious items including: pizza, diet coke, and Abby's special salad! When we were full we moved on to the bikes. The kids had such a great time going through the bike wash. Connor used the small push car. He loved it. As we were getting ready to leave we found this great vacuum exhibit. You place these soft plush balls into a vacuum and you watch them spin through the maze and shoot out the other side. The kids loved it! We had such a good day! Kate said on the way home, "Mommy thanks for such a great day, you're the best!"

Sports Day at Chick Fil A

Today was Sports Day at Chick Fil A. Chris has been looking forward to this day all week. He had the kids clothes laid out and everything. Chris loves when he gets to dress the kids in sports apparel. The kids were so excited. We loaded up in the car and off we went. We got to chick fil a and it really was not too bad. And then the place got packed. They had 2 people working the counter. I mean come on. You are giving away free chicken sandwiches and you have two people working. The line behind us extended out the door. The Kids were so impatient. Actually Kate was great, but Connor was horrible. Did you know at Chick Fil A they do not help the next person until the person in fornt of them gets their food. I mean the place is packed and the stupid lady won't help us because the people in front of us have not come up to get their food yet. I do love that at Chick Fil A they are always so nice, but come on. So we finally get our food. We bring the kids back to eat. They of course want to go play. Chick Fil A has the worst playground in the world. It is actually enclosed and you have to go open the heavy door just to go and play. Needless to say all Connor wanted to do was watch the door open and close. I swear, I love him, but I sometimes think something is very wrong with him. Lunch was a disaster. We ended up leaving with our food and I told Chris that I never wanted to go back. He seemed to be content with the fact that he got his free sandwiches and got to dress the kids up. For that I am happy!

Don't Stop Believing!

I put this song on my blog because this is the official get up and go song of the tax household! Kate and I jam out to this every morning and sing it in the car on the way to school. Connor even jams out!

Madison Elizabeth Elmore

She is here! Madison Elizabeth was born on August 20th, 2009. Kerry had such a long labor and ended up delivering by c section. She was a true fighter! We are so glad that she is finally here! She is just the sweetest thing. I was able to go out there last weekend to visit and help. She is such a good baby. Kerry and Todd are doing a great job. I was so glad that I got the chance to go out there and spend some time with them and love little Madison up!

Kate Starts Kindergarten!

Okay the day was finally here! I have looked forward to this day for a long time, but I have also dreaded it! My sweet girl was starting Kindergarten. She is growing up! All summer long she was so excited for the first day. Since she is attending my school she got to come to my classroom a lot over the summer and meet her teacher Mrs. Harris. We went shopping for all her school supplies and uniforms and she was all set to go. That Sunday night I real to her, "The Night Before Kindergarten." Well it was over for me at that point. I had already lost it. I was sobbing. I tucked her in and said good night. I had to mentally prepare myself for the next morning. Not only for her starting kindergarten, but for my 1st day back as well. I knew that I would be emotional and I needed to be ready to greet my kids and assure their parents that they would be fine. 1st graders are still a little sad on the first day. So I went to be okay with the fact that Kate was going to start Kindergarten. I woke up that morning and was ready for the day. We got lunches packed and we were ready to go. Chris took Connor to school and then came and met us at school. Grandma and Grandpa came as well. We got out of the car and walked into school and Kate turned to me and said, "Mom, it is okay. I am going to be just fine. I love you, have a great day." And that was that. She ran off to play on the playground. Now I was crying even harder I think because she wasn't sad. I think as moms we expect that they will always cry when we leave or pull on us when they don't want us to go. She is becoming such a big girl and this just affirmed it. I then had to get into teacher mode for my kids. I left Kate in the hands of Chris, Grandma, and Grandpa. The nice part about working there is that I can go see her and check on her whenever I want. That is reassuring. The bell rang. All the kids lined up. I had my sunglasses on the whole time, because I was still very teary. I brought my kids into the classroom and of course like normal about 10 sets of parents came in as well. So I started the day still teaching with my sunglasses which I am sure parents were really concerned about. I finally took them off and told my class, "You might see that my eyes are a little red because I was sad this morning that Kate was starting Kindergarten. I am fine now and we are going to have a great day!" To which one of my students responds, "Mrs. Tax, don't worry she is going to be fine. We will help you if you are sad." Geezzzzzz, can't I get a break. I then loose it again. I finally compose myself and we do continue to have a great day.
Kate had a great first day of school. She just loves it there! She loves Mrs. Harris her teacher. I am truly so proud of her and am so excited to see what this new chapter in her life will bring.

We are Back!

Okay everyone, I know it has been such a long time but we are back online! Since I last posted many things have happened.

Connor turned 2. I can't believe it. He gets so much cuter everyday. His personality is really starting to shine through. He is talking so much and really becoming such a little boy. He started sleeping in his own big boy bed. He had no problem with this at all. We created a little camping room for him and he loves it. He brings so much joy to our lives. I love that he is so full of energy. I love that he wakes me up in the middle of the night just to say hi. I love that he gives the best hugs and kisses. I am so blessed to be his mom.

We spent many a day by the pool. It was a great summer! We were able to have many friends over and had so much fun. We purchased this great underwater camera. It takes pictures and videos. This was the "toy" of the summer. We have some great memories.

My brother turned 40. I can't believe it. My sister in law threw him a surprise party. It was a great night to celebrate what a great person he is. We had a little incident with Kari and the baby, but all was well.

We had baby showers for my sister Kerry and my sister in law Kari. It was a very busy summer. Two new additions coming to our family. They were both great parties. I also went out to LA for Kerry's shower there. It was a great trip! I am still convinced that we should open our own party planning business. We do it so much and we all have so much fun.


Chris and I took the kids to the Biltmore for a mini staycation! It was an interesting time. We had fun but it was really crowded. The kids were able to swim and we even watched Madagascar in the pool. Kate thought that was great! We had some major troubles with our room, but all and all it really was great! Kelly was kind enough to take the kids for a night so we could have a break. We went to a great dinner and saw The Hangover! The funniest movie ever! Thank you Kelly so much for giving us a break!

The kids and I went to Pinewood with Kelly and the kids. We rented a big cabin and the weather was beautiful. It was a perfect weekend. We took the kids on walks and bike rides. We were able to go to the country club and play in the rec room and go swimming. The kids had a blast. I want to do this every year. It was so great to spend time with Kelly and let all the kids play.

We truly had a great summer. I am already ready for the next one!
I have made a little photo montage from the summer, Enjoy!