Taft Family Campout - Palisade State Park

 Wyatt, Jace, Mason, Carson, Mack, Halle, Avaree

We had a fabulous time camping down by Manti last month!  The campground was perfect and I'm confident we will return.  It had clean bathrooms with showers, lots of shade, a fun little lake for the kids to swim around in, and even a golf course on-site.  Perfect for the Tafts!

 Uncle Bret, the Bumbo King!

 Ruby and Howdy...will they ever be friends?

 The kids loved climbing on the "Arch Tree".  

Every kid should climb a few trees in their lifetime!

 Lake Monster!

 Charlotte & Abigail...soon to be best friends!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a great weekend 

and lots of wonderful new memories!

How has it been half a year already?

This sweet girl is 6 months old this week.  

How is that possible?!

We feel very blessed that she is healthy and well.

Her neck is stronger and nearly where it needs to be.

Her core gets stronger each week.

Her head shape is beautiful and we were 

able to avoid the dreaded helmet.  

Thank heavens - no worse time to wear that than in summer!

Her muscle tone is better and she's starting to lock her 

legs and "stand" when we hold her up by her underarms.  

She is 17 pounds & 27 1/2".

She is in the 97% for height and 84% for weight,

which translates to mean in a room of 100 other 6-month olds, 

she be as tall or taller than 97 of them and weigh as much or more than 84 of them.

Dr. Moskun says she's as big as most 8-9 month olds.

You go, Charli!  Show them who's boss!

She loves to blow raspberries and stick out her tongue.

She loves to eat baby food, especially sweet potatoes!

She does not care for applesauce.

She's started noticing the puppy and is very curious about pulling Ruby's tail.  

Ruby lets her do it about twice before she starts to get real annoyed.  

She loves to sit in her exersaucer or play on a blanket on the floor.

She finds her feet fascinating and thinks they taste yummy, too.

She loves books - especially gumming on the corners.

She has us wrapped around her fingers - at least the ones that aren't in her mouth!

Love this little girl and can't believe 

six months could go by so quickly.  

I'm looking forward to what the 

next six months will bring.  

Happy half-birthday, Charlotte!

Look at her,

Our "baby" girl.

With each passing year she gains 

more grace, insight, humor, and zest for life!

She is our "pleaser", our organizer, our performer, our aspiring cook, our story writer and poet, our game-maker-upper, our babysitter, our play-outside-until-the-sun-goes-down-er, our fashionista (who gives free (and most often unsolicited fashion advice), our fingernail-painter, our leave-a-sweet-note-on-your-pillow-writer, and usually, our first peacemaker in any argument.

She and Brett were invited to a Daddy Daughter evening at the church for Activity Days.  It was a western theme, with line-dancing, BBQ sandwiches, and lots of fun one-on-one time for the fathers and their "best gals".  

This morning:

This morning: 

I woke to How the Day Sounds by Greg Laswell 

and was completely motivated not to waste any of this beautiful Saturday!

I took the dog jogging with me around the neighborhood.

The air smelled sweet after last night's rain and the morning felt cool.

The mountains in the East were a gorgeous shade of blue in the morning sun.

I'm happy.

Kid Dinners

It seems like I'm always in a hurry.  Whatever task I'm doing has to be done 5 minutes ago, so when my sweet kids offer to help, particularly in the kitchen, I regrettably find myself giving a "Thanks but no thanks" response.  For shame!  I realize that there will come a day in the not-too-distant future that I am begging them to give me some help - why am I not establishing those patterns now?  Because I never feel I have enough time or emotional reserve to patiently teach them how to help me.  It's just "faster if I do it myself".  Wiser, more experienced mothers are now shaking their heads in disappointment, I know.

And so, in a baby step towards letting the kids be more a part of the daily tasks in our home, I assigned each child a night of "Kid Dinner".  I'm not sure how it will continue in the hustle-and-bustle of the school year...maybe once a month?  But for the summer, every other week a child in our family is responsible for the planning and preparation of a family meal.  The kids loved it!  I loved it!  It removed a small degree of motherhood guilt AND I didn't feel overwhelmed at last minute offers to help mom because I knew the night was coming and could plan my time accordingly (since we all know that having your kids "help" you often requires more time and energy than doing it yourself!)

Here are their meals:

Wyatt chose Hot Dogs, Fruit Salad (presenting elegantly on lettuce leaves), and Cheesey Roasted Potato Wedges with homemade Fry Sauce.  For dessert, a delicious Chocolate Cake.

* * * * * * * * *

Halle treated us to Mini Pizzas, Garden Salad, 

and Delicious Ice Cream Coconut Snowballs for dessert.

* * * * * * * * *

 Carson prepared Crusty Chicken Tenders, Fruit Salad with "Yoda Dip" (he added neon green food coloring, the color of Yoda), and for dessert: a cup of Dirt with Worms (which to our pleasant surprise tasted a lot like chocolate pudding with oreos and gummy worms!)

 Look at Carson's mouth when he works.  

He slides his tongue around.  

Guess it helps him concentrate!

Charli's first swim: 5 1/2 months

There once was a baby named Charlotte,
Who was sweating 'cuz the sun was so hot.

She donned her new suit (against her own will)

But then Charli was nothing but CHILL!

Another "President Taft" on the ballot?

The other day Carson asked me to do his hair a little differently than his usual "spikes".  He wanted it combed flat and to the side.  Wyatt came in as we were finishing up and exclaimed:

"He looks like Mitt Romney!"

So after we all had a good chuckle, I told 

Carson if he wants to be a good politician 

there are a few critical moves 

he needs to get down first:

The Politician Wave

The "I can show that I love 

children and puppies by" Kissing Babies

The "I care about you as an individual 

and don't you feel like we're friends now,

so please vote for me" Handshake

Well, I don't know about you, 

but come November

this smooth-talkin' 

redhead's got MY vote!

Baby Blues: which is Halle and which is Charlotte?

A.

B.

Our great desire is to raise our children in truth & righteousness!

Yesterday Wyatt shared his testimony publicly for the first time in Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting.  He had mentioned earlier that morning he thought he wanted to do it but was feeling very nervous.  We talked about how testimonies don't have to be a bunch of fancy words.  They are simply when we share what we believe and how it makes us feel.  I could not have been prouder - or weepier!  He testified that he knows Jesus was resurrected and that Heavenly Father loves us.  He testified that he knows President Monson really is a prophet from God.  He had poise and courage, and was overall totally amazing.  Earlier that day he had also confided that he wasn't sure he wanted to fast because it was hard to be so hungry.  I told him fasting wasn't supposed to be easy - that was one of the reasons we fast.  We are proving to ourselves and to Heavenly Father that our spirit controls the desires of our bodies, not the other way around.  Of course, as I'm telling him this, he's looking down at his feet as he makes them turn side-to-side.  So glad I had such a captive audience!  But THEN....  in primary just a few hours later where I was substituting for the pianist, they discussed fasting in Sharing Time.  When she asked what some of the blessings we can receive from fasting are, Wyatt raised his hand and said, "We get power.  Our spirits get power over our bodies."  Ka-Pow!  To top it all off, that night he presented a sweet lesson about testimonies during our Family Home Evening time.  Brett and I were genuinely impressed at his confidence and preparation.  He reminded us that when we share our feelings and experiences with the Holy Ghost, we are sharing our testimonies.  What an awesome kid!

David A. Bednar has said, "Our testimony of gospel truth should be reflected both in our words and in our deeds.  And our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes.  Spouses, parents, and CHILDREN should strive to overcome any hesitancy, reluctance, or embarrassment about bearing testimony.  We should both create and look for opportunities to bear testimony of gospel truths - and live them."

Wyatt, hearing your testimony today brought the Spirit into my heart.  Your words made my own testimony grow and I was strengthened by your example.  I'm overjoyed to know that you really do believe in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.  They ARE real and they DO love know you.  The Savior has encouraged us to be as little children.  That is because children usually have faith so much easier than adults and are more willing to learn and change.  You have been a shining example to me of someone with great faith and a submissive nature.  I hope you will continue to help your testimony grow through prayer, reading the scriptures, and being aware of making good choices.  I also hope you will continue to share your testimony often.  I know the more you share it, the stronger it will be and as you grow into a young man your foundation will be strong and sure, just like the man who "build his house upon the rock" instead of sand.  These are some of the things that will help you keep the promises you will make when you are baptized in a few months.  I know your Heavenly Father is proud of you and very, very pleased that you have such an anxious desire to enter the waters of baptism and make covenants with Him.  You are an important person in my life and I'm grateful for the different ways you make me a better person.  You inspire me!  I love you!