Cousins are forever...

Talmage's cousin Talei came up with a wonderful way to remember Talmage this weekend. She painted rocks and had all the cousins (and a few of us adults) sign them. I love how colorful they are. Talmage is the 28th grandkid on the Anderson side - that is a lot of cousin-love!

My mom and sister put together a beach pail and we brought the rocks over to the cemetery.

Fielding had a good time with the rocks. 

(I don't know why the sod is dead again - they are having a rough time getting it right. Too low, too high, too dead... it is a little thing but it drives me crazy that they can't just make it green and flat like it is supposed to be. I will like it better when I can't see just how small the rectangle was that they dug up).

Happy Memorial Day!

Counting down...

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson came to town last Saturday - they only stayed a day and when they left they told Paisley all about the upcoming fun that starts this Friday when my dad flies back into town. So this week has been a week of waiting and counting down until Friday, some of us more patiently than others (Paisley and I both fall into the impatient category). So we have been trying hard to come up with ways to pass the time.

A classic around here is playing 'boat'. This is probably the only self-directed activity that my girls actually do and I love every second of no-mom-required entertainment it affords me. I don't love that the object of the game is to see how many toys, blankets, and books that they can pile in their boat so the crocodiles don't get them - but the mess is usually worth it. 

We had our last day of 'house-preschool.' I love the co-op group I was in and hope to find something similar in a few years for Cosie and Fielding.

We made shirts, had some treats, and one of our friends brought his baby bunnies for show-and-tell (they were a huge hit except when Fielding tried to squeeze one to death - kind of freaked us all out but luckily we saved the poor little thing from the grasps of 'Lenny').

 Finally found something you can do with Squinkies. Fill a bowl with water, get some little cups, and have a couple towels ready for clean-up.

Cosie loved putting them in the big swimming pool and then dumping them back into the little ones.

Fielding thought he would teach himself Settlers. The board games have all been re-located to a much-higher location on the bookshelf because this boy loves to dump.

Posing in the window. At some point in every day I find some kid sitting/laying up here.

We have been making good use of the few minutes that we have with Dad each night.  

The girls color-coordinated the silly-bands collection that we inherited and lined our table with their display.

 We bought the $1 Popsicle mold at Walmart and it will be getting lots of love this summer. 

Doing jobs. I have been trying hard to come up with age-appropriate chores for my girls. They beg to wash dishes so I don't know if this really counts as a job for them but you got to start somewhere.

Climbing trees. We found some good ones in the common area in our neighborhood.

Cousin Cana came for a visit. We had fun showing her around the backyard. Fielding and her did better getting along this time which was encouraging since I expect them to be the best of friends. 

While we were waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to get here last week - Paisley and Cosie set the table and I loved that they put Grandma Anderson's plate in the middle and both scooted as close as physically possible to it. I love that my kids love their grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. We are so ready to party this weekend and catch up with some of my kid's most favorite people - their family!

Pajamasaurus...

Nothing like some 50-cent-thrifted pajamas to brighten up your day.

I pointed out the dinosaurs and he got down on all fours and said "RRRoar." I think boys are born with sound effects. I had to teach my girls what cars and dinosaurs and explosions sounded like - not him, he came out just knowing.

Check out the tush - I could stare at it all night. Especially as he snoozes in his crib with his signature 'bum-in-the-sky' sleeping position. The pictures don't do it justice - just come over and take a peek - it will make you want to have another baby IMMEDIATELY.

Whenever people ask me if we are done having kids, I laugh (usually out-loud and right in their face) because all it takes is one glimpse of my toddler in a pair of festive skinny-jamas and I know I will never 'feel like I am done'. At some point someone will just have to pull me aside and say "You need to stop now" otherwise I will just keep wanting to do this baby thing over and over again...

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

Took our annual trip to the zoo before school gets out and it gets a little too crowded for our taste.

I love the Boise Zoo. I can hear Blake correcting me as I type... 'It is called Zoo Boise'. Well, whatever it is called - it is the best and cheapest little zoo around. It is totally manageable with three little kids and 2 hours lets you see the entire thing even with extra stops to let this little guy run.

Those four year olds who sit peacefully in their stroller - I won't ever have one of those. This boy squawked at every exhibit because he wanted to get up close and personal. Both girls were exactly the same way - except Cosie didn't want to run, she just wanted to be held.

We invited our friend SaraMarie along with her cute baby Adele. Fielding gawked at her like she was one of the animals, only cuter.

When I asked the girl's what there favorite part was - they unanimoulsy replied 'Feeding the goats.' And I would totally agree. 

Paisley was a pro.

Cosie was hesitant and just threw it at the goat's face...

But then found handing the food to Fielding was just as fun.

And Fielding absolutley loved it.

And didn't even try to eat the goat food much to his mama's surprise.

 We also took our annual photo on the tiger although Cosie was the most cooperative which is shocking and translates to we did not get a great shot.

But I had to keep trying because this boy is 16 months.

Here is Cosie at 16 months.

Here is Paisley at 16 months.

I did not plan this on purpose but might have to start with the next kids. I like to compare their bald heads - Fielding has the least amount of hair so far. And compare my photography skills - I am getting worse the more kids I have... what is up with that?

See you next year - giant giraffe slide.

Name tags...

Last Thursday, I attended our Stake Relief Society Conference. As you walked in - there were tables (fantastically decorated of course) with a place setting that contained a pencil turned pinwheel, a notepad, a bookmark, and a 'Hello my name is...' sticker. My table began to fill up with a few friends and a few strangers, and I decided I should probably put my name tag on. As I filled mine out - I couldn't help but think that what I really wanted to put was "Hello my name is Cyndi Taylor. My last baby was stillborn." Then the opening song began and as I looked around the room, I wondered what the 100 of ladies in attendance name tags should really say:

'Hello my name is Jane. My mom is dying from cancer.'

'Hello my name is Sandy. My husband is unemployed... still.'

'Hello my name is Mary. My teenage son is addicted to pornography.'

There would also be happy ones.

'Hello my name is Carol. My boyfriend proposed last night.'

'Hello my name is Terri. I am going to be a Grandma.'

'Hello my name is Sue. I am a Triathlete at age 62.'

In the book,  An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination: A Memoir , she talked about how she wished she had a card that said "My first son was stillborn." She knew people did not want to hear it but maybe they would not mind reading it. She could hand it to the strangers who asked, "Is this is your first?" when her second son was born. She could pass it to the insurance biller who did not understand why there was a charge for a delivery but no charge for a pediatrician. She could pass it to acquaintances who knew of her pregnancy but had not heard of her loss.

I have thought of this often. I want one of those cards. I bet a lot of people could use one of those cards. They would all say different things but it would help others understand just where you are coming from. That night I wanted my name tag to be my card. I wanted to see everyone else's card as well. I think we would have been shocked, inspired, and strengthened by reading what everyone's card had to say.

In the end, my name tag only read 'Hello my name is Cyndi Taylor.' 

But I still wish I could have been seen as brave (instead of as the crazy grieving lady) if I had wrote this:

Lately...

We've been enjoying the sun - lots of chalk-drawing, bubble-blowing, and park-playing.

And water-ballooning, sprinklering, and kiddie-pooling when the sun gets to hot.

On Saturday, we took a short family hike. The kids loved it and I hope we can fit in some more hiking into our Saturdays.

The sand hill was the biggest hit on the hike - Cosie especially enjoyed climbing up it.

Most of our Saturdays, our filled up with yard and garden work. Blake does most of it since Fielding is quite destructive to his small and fragile plants - so I stay busy keeping Fielding away from the garden.

On Saturday, I also wallpapered our garage with some of our race numbers. Our numbers have been gathering up over the years and I always stashed them in random folders and boxes so I started pulling them out and stapling them up in our garage. It is fun to have a place to display all our hard work and remember the memories that went with each race. We can keep adding to it as I find the missing ones and run some new ones.

 We put up Blake's Panama hammock. I love it. Paisley begs me to go swing in it with her all day long. It is funny though because the whole time we are in it she asks to go get toys and books and blankets - I tell her that hammocks are for relaxing and she just needs to relax. Relaxing really isn't in Paisley's vocab, but Cosie on the other hand totally knows how to take it easy.

The girl's have claimed it as their secret hideout and I love seeing their little heads sticking out of this as they play, talk, and laugh.

This little boy just keeps getting more and more fun. He has the brightest eyes and such an easy-to-appear smile. He loves to dance and tries to sing and although still very destructive - makes our home so happy that we easily forgive his trouble. His blue eyes make my heart sing.

 I read a book. I had to take the cover off because I really don't understand the purpose of dust jackets and wish my husband was not so attached to them because I would trash all of them the instant the book walked through my front door. I think books look so much prettier in their naked hard-covered state.

Her book was good. I am not a regular blog-reader of hers so I didn't really know the story. I've read a few posts here and there especially when we lived in Mesa because everyone was talking about it - but it was fascinating to here all the details of just what she went through after their plane crashed. The first 90 pages are slow and mushy and I felt so awful for thinking "Let's just get to the crash already." Someone should not have to have a tragic event to make their life story fascinating - but I knew it was coming (from the cliffhanging prologue) and was so interested in hearing the details that the overview of her courtship and marriage to Christain was somewhat tedious. I loved how real she was about her experience and shared the heartbreaking lows that she had reached. Her faith in Heavenly Father and love for her family were inspiring.