Another Week in the Life of the Taylors!

What a week we've had! I suppose I should start with our biggest event -

FATHERS DAY! 

Me and my Daddy
My Wedding Day -April 30, 2011



I was one of those blessed girls who got to grow up with a dad who was the very definition of Super Dad! Like most dads my dad taught me to do things like ride a bike, play a handful of different sports, ride a horse, and drive (including a tractor, four-wheeler, jet-ski, and a boat!) But what qualifies my dad for the Super Dad "S" on his chest were the outrageous number of "above and beyond" things that he did for me. I probably couldn't even count how many hours my dad spent just driving me to dance rehearsals over the years (well, sixth grade through my junior year before I got my license it was a 3 hour drive round trip from my studio to my house, at least 3, up to 6 days a week... you get the idea.) Not to mention all the all the performances, recitals, conventions, and competitions he came to. Now, for those of you who haven't experienced the life of a competitive dancer that may not mean much to you. You may think, "A dance competition, huh? Big deal." Reality is, that it is a huge commitment, not just on the dancers part, but the parents - driving to a different state weekend after weekend for dance competitions that would last all day Saturday and Sunday (sometimes Fridays too - I loved those days 'cause I got to miss school!), not to mention at least one national competition every summer all across the U.S. from Florida to Las Vegas, that was an entire week of competiton! Not many dads would put up with that, but not only did my dad put up with it, he supported me 100% every step of the way and was always there cheering me on. My dad is the kinda guy that you can go to with anything. He's unfailingly kind, caring, and he goes out of his way to help others. I could go on and on about all that my dad has done for me and how incredible he is. But bottom line is, my dad is the best ever - he definitely earned his Super Dad "S"! I didn't get to spend this Fathers Day with my dad but he was in my thoughts all day and I once again thanked God for technology like FaceTime so that I  was able to see my dad 2400 miles away!

Andrew and Tristan
January 2011

Andrew with his Father's Day goodies

This Fathers Day I got to celebrate another incredible dad in my life - Andrew! Its a very long, involved story (and not a very pleasant one at that) but Andrew had to fight very, very hard to get to be a part of his son's life. A lot of dads would've just turned and walked away thinking it wasn't worth the trouble - but Andrew stuck to his guns because he loves his son, and he was rewarded for it. I love watching Andrew and Tristan together - it makes me all "warm and fuzzy" as my Grandma used to put it. When Tristan looks at Andrew his whole face lights up - its just a testament to how great a dad Andrew is and how much that little kiddo loves him. Unfortunately, Andrew didn't get to have Tristan here with us to celebrate Fathers Day this year so I just had to love on Andrew extra for him! We had a picnic lunch (although it was way windy and almost lost our food several times - next time I'll plan picnics a little more carefully!) and spent the day doing all the things Andrew likes to do. Andrew got to Skype (video call) with Tristan that afternoon so he got to see him too - Tristan spent the call showing Andrew his trucks and boo-boos, typical 3 year old! Andrew's all time favorite dessert is banana pudding so I made some for him to celebrate the day and had a photo collage "from Tristan" made for him with pictures of the pair from over the last year. "D" (Tristan's name for Andrew's mom) helped Tristan paint a picture and sent it to Andrew, too - its now hanging proudly on our fridge! Overall, a successful, happy Fathers Day!

IN OTHER NEWS.....

I have been keeping quite busy with school! I've always been one of those people who enjoy being in school and Ashford University is feeling like a really great fit to me! My transfer hours haven't been evaluated yet but if things play out like I'm hoping I should be graduating with my Bachelor's in Education Studies, specializing in Early Childhood Education with my teaching certification NEXT FALL!!! The class I'm currently taking I've studied quite a bit before - psychology and development. Its going great - only a few weeks left of this class and then its on to the next (I'm really loving these excellerated courses!)

Andrew has had a particularly busy week with work! He's still working weekends, which he is actually enjoying (suprisingly.) He's done with physical therapy now as well! Its getting to be extremely hot here! Normally Andrew and I walk the dogs in the evenings but its still so hot that we have just been sitting on the patio with them - we keep them inside most of the time now, though, they're well trained and it its just too hot! Axel actually burned the pads of his paws on the cement, the poor baby! We've mostly spent our after work/school hours running errands and relaxing in the air conditioning!

I've always enjoyed projects and finding outlets to let my creativity go into, and I've had a couple very good ones lately! While Andrew worked last Saturday I decided to finally get started on writing the book that has been slowly evolving in my head over the past few years! I'm off to a good start!  Also, we're preparing for Tristan to come stay with us in a few weeks so we decided to personalize his room! We've ordered a few things to give his room that "Tristan flair!"I couldn't find any posters or prints that I liked so I spent all afternoon (no, seriously, all afternoon...) making a photo collage of different Disney Car's characters, each with a letter of his name, to put on his wall!

Thats our week in a nutshell - come back next week for more of Life With the Taylors! :)

Cars collage for Tristan's new room!