a pat on the back to me- I am alive

My word it's been some time.
Last night I heard my phone buzz and looked over to see a text that read
"Update your blog already woman!!! Also how is everything!?!?!"
I suppose I forgot that some people read what I write.
And in all honesty, I have missed the therapeutic nature of writing my thoughts.
For, a surprise to us all I'm sure.... I have quite a few of them.
To those of you who come to visit me here, I feel like I owe a slight explanation.
I have been crazy.
Not just school, not just service, not just friends.
This semester has been different than any other on record.
I've dated more than ever before in my life,
I've forged new and different friendships.
I'm not serving in a leadership position on campus.
I have a boy and I like him.
And all of it is changing and growing all the time.
I guess so much has gone on that I'm not quite sure where or how to start.

I guess I'll start somewhere-
Late last summer when I was home, I had a friend that came and wanted to do a photo shoot.
You have to understand, I am consistently behind the lens.
That being said, I was more than slightly uncomfortable.
But Chloe is a gem. She made me comfortable and at home in this place I love.
And when she sent me the pictures a few weeks later, I was pleasantly surprised.
I loved the way she brought out the good things about me [extreme talent]
More than that, I loved that I was at home and she caught my happiness.
This is me, and this is where I'm from.
And it's merely a piece of the happiness I feel when I'm here.

Here's to being home.
And family.
An an enormous gratitude post coming your way,
and a whole lot of time with kiddos coming my way.

Love Always,
Taylor Ann

Summer Series: efy

So I was in Hawaii,
which was an adventure in and of itself,
when I received an e-mail from efy.
efy=especially for youth=church summer camp=favorite part of my adolescence.

I had applied earlier in the summer, but as life would have it...
It didn't work out.

The email told me they had openings for a few sessions the following week, and I shot back an "I'm free"
Three days later, an overnight flight home, church, and an all-nighter to get ready.
I was at efy.
Everyone had been a counselor before.
I was the complete and total newbie, and had no idea what I was doing.
I was placed with the largest group of girls.
My boss transferred her niece to my group,
so I felt like all eyes were on me...
the rookie.
I was a hot mess,
sick from my all-nighter,
but trusting that the Lord had my back.
Oh, and faking it until I made it.

That week was a God-sent little blessing.
I needed it.

I needed to refocus, and get my mind out of the mess it was in.
The only way I've learned to do that is to take the focus off the little circle that is me.
Not a moment of the whole experience was about me, and it was exactly what I needed.







So I lost myself in the sounds of my kiddos calls for Mama TayTay,
and loved every minute of doing so.

Love Always,
A mama of 24 little ducklings,
Mama TayTay

Summer Series: the summer I had a fling with motorcycles

I don't know how it happened...

but this summer I had a real thing for motorcycles, apparently.

It started spring semester when my roommate was dating a boy.

Him and his roommate owned motorcycles.

I was single.

So we formed a motorcyle gang, the four of us.

Then so happened that they left for summer,

and another friend needed a girl to ride on the back. 

Oh wait, I could probably help you out with that one... you know?

And yet another friend came in town from Boston and I got the text,

"how about a motorcycle ride up the canyon, lunch, and the best ice cream you'll ever have?"

I said no. 

whaaaaaattttt. jokes. 

How could I possibly refuse that.

 [thus all the pictures. i LOVE the drive to Park City]

Then I went home, and I was sure my adventures were over. 

But fate would have it otherwise, 

I was about to have my best one yet.

I got asked if by a friend if I wanted to take an adventure...

but wasn't allowed to ask questions. 

Take it or leave it. 

And hallelujah I took it.

 Not only was it one of the best adventures I had all summer...

but completed my motorcycle adventures for a while.

you know, I'm not really sure I would want my husband to have a motorcycle 

if we're being really honest here...

but I sure don't mind someone else's future husband giving me a ride. 

The combination of slight danger and wind in your face....

Doesn't get much better than that.

I had a thing with more motorcycles than boys this summer. 

Go figure.

A good ole Cenote adventure.

Our family has always loved Mexico.
There's a certain charm about it, and something in the air.
The hot, humid, sultry air.

There has always been an itch for Mexico that we couldn't shake.
I can't speak for us all, but for me it's the language,
the colorful buildings and intricate tiles,
the connection to culture,
the excitement of the unexplored,
the food. fajitas, tacos, guacamole, fruit.
the history, the townsquares, the cathedrals.
the little people with brown eyes.

After Chichen Itza, which I suppose will have to be a post in and of itself,
we went to a Cenote [pronounced see-no-tay] and walked the streets of the nearest town.
Rewind. cenote. we walked in and were just blown away at how beautiful it was.
[oh and also the lack of restrictions which would have been EVERYWHERE had this been the US]
Most of the people that came on the bus with us were just standing around the edges,
but that didn't pacify us Veaters near enough- Zane jumped in almost immediately.
Brooke, Dad, and I followed.
Jess stayed on the edge with mom and husband as a good pregger should.
Zane proceeded to jump off the ledge halfway up, and we cheered shamelessly.
Then came time for us all to jump, though we weren't sure where from.
The highest spot ended up to be our destined point of departure.









We ended up making quite a scene, the four of us- shouting across the way to the others and such.
Brooke had people cheering and taking pictures. What a stud of a 13 year-old, right?
We then proceeded to have  a nice lunch in town and eat at a charming little restaurant.
My family was goofy and slightly irreverent- all in good humor and Veater fashion.
[And yes, my hair looked like that for the entirety of the trip in case you were wondering.]

Yay for Mexico.

Taylor Ann

oh hey LA

Ok, so I had to go home.
Remember when I did that last year?
Yeah, it was about that time. I was dying.
So we decided to take a trip, Lauren and I.

At first it was a surprise, but then it wasn't.
But since daddy knew, he bought us a hotel room next to his to lure us into staying with him in LA overnight.
[as if two twenty one year-old girls need convincing to stay in a high rise in downtown Los Angeles...]
We got into the room around 9pm and just stood flat faced at the window for at least five minutes.
Unreal.




We proceeded to eat a room service dinner and watch the Office before falling into bed.
What is it about roadtrips that make you so exhausted? Sitting in a seat? Not moving? Not sure.
The next day, we were more than happy to get on the road to Coarsegold, but LA was a great adventure!
There will be documenting of the rest of the trip when I get back to a little bit of normalcy.


Thanks daddy, for taking such good care of me :)

tay

oh heyyyy there!

I thought I probably owed you all a photo-montage of spring.
Life here is always happy during spring, and rain never lasts long.
Long enough to curl up and read a book...maybe enjoy some hot chocolate...
Then the sun comes out and you can ride your bike to school and just sit and bask in sunshine.
New sunshine, warm sunshine- not hot sunshine.
Fountains glimmer and frozen treats come to play.

This spring I've especially loved the freedom of it all.
Having everything to do all the time, but choosing whether or not you want to do anything at all.
Realizing that you are secretly 17 at heart when you buy multi-colored pens to stock up for back to school.
Getting large groups of people to go with you everywhere... even if it is just the gym.
Sitting in an empty library to study while you wait for your next class.
Eating dinner together on your bedroom floor... because you can.
Going to weeknight, latenight dinner with the boys just for fun.
Riding in the beds of trucks and on the back of motorcycles.
Receiving a new "spanish name". alter-ego anyone?

Oh yeah, I will probably have 23095405846 birthday posts....

Oh hey there, have I told you about Lauren?
Oh what? I've told you about her fifty times already?
Hmm... interesting.

 So every year when my parents come up over my birthday week,
they leave before the week is through.
[mind you, they technically come up for the President's Holiday... but we can pretend it's solely for me...]
 Soooooo... they have the timeshare for a full week,
leaving me to use it how I will to celebrate how I so please.
This year, I think I was just tired.
Lauren asked what I wanted to do a million times,
and all I could respond was "I don't know..."
Lame, I'm aware.
But then I made up my mind that I just wanted a semi-quiet weekend.
I wanted to go up, get pizza, take advantage of the hot tub, and watch a chick flick.
Is that so much to ask?
I say no.

So Lauren and I went.
and ordered pizza,
and ate Great Harvest pumpkin chocolate chip bread. 
and shopped [and maybe bought matching skirts?]
and painted our nails.
and got in the hot tub.
and watched Midnight in Paris.
and maybe had some adventures.
and talked about boys and life until all hours of the morning.

The best kind of night.
Happy Birthday to me.
Again.
But really.









And today I got to talk to my grandma on the phone,
she said I was meant to be born in her era.
I couldn't have possibly been more flattered.
Nor felt like the statement was more true.

Love Always,
All the way from 1952,
Taylor Ann

all kinds of bruises

Remember that race?

I SURVIVED! 

Seriously, I wasn't sure there for a second or two.... or three...

The spartan was the most intense race I have ever run or attempted to run.

Hallelujah for David, who invited me to run with the boys, because I may never have tried it.

The race was 8 miles of straight mountain climbing basically... plus 12 obstacles.

Now you may be able to see why I thought I wouldn't survive.

I knew David, but the rest of the boys on the team I hardly knew or didn't know until the 12 hours before the event. 

The night before the race they sat in the kitchen and the conversation went something like this...

"So, are we all going to stick together as a team tomorrow?"

"Yeah man, we aren't doing it to win, so let's all stick together"

Me... thinking.. [whoa-hey! remember how there's no way I won't slow you all down in a major way. so embarrassing.... oh dear....]

"Yeah, so I'm thinking we should NOT stick together so I don't hold you guys back"

"Well, we will figure it out tomorrow, but let's try to stick together"

[thank heavens they chose not to argue about it, because I was set on not being the weakest link]

So the next day came. and somehow I kept up with them....almost.

But when I fell a bit behind they would wait for me at the next obstacle. 

And inevitably somebody would ask how I was doing,

or make sure I was ok after jumping off a wall,

or give me a smile and a high five.

Best team ever?

I would argue that yes, yes they were.

Now I will share with you our ever-so lovely before, right after, and next-day-super-sore kind of after photos. In case you were wondering how 8 miles and 12 obstacles can make a girl sore....
think food storage buckets of sand and cement,
dragging blocks of cement through sand,
hoisting yourself over walls with nearly non-existent amounts of upper body strength,
carrying tires up a mountain,
wading through mud,
and army crawling under barbed wire.
Sweet.

These are just the pictures that Zack's lovely, blogging mother took of us.
Time will tell if the photographers at the race got any sweet action shots.

Until then, 
bruised, scratched, and still slightly stiff,

Taylor Ann

reminiscent.

Tonight I went to a Peru reunion.

And as I sat there with those people and talked about life since our grand adventure,

the longing that for so long has been in the back of my mind came directly to the front. 

It never takes long for it to get there.

I remember riding the bus through the mountains between Urubamba and Cusco on my way home.

My eyes were glued to the window, and a sort of hole started to form in my heart.

Someone asked me what I was thinking and all I could find to say was, 

"I don't want to leave"

Peru was one of the best experiences of my life for so many reasons. 

I was doing something bigger than me in a place so much bigger than me. 

I went to bed exhausted every night,

and woke tired every morning. 

I met people I would never have dreamed I could love so much.

In a place I knew hardly anything about.

And at the end I was left wide-eyed and breathless,

and aware of a place in my heart that I never knew existed.

when you find a cute boutique, you just don't walk away empty handed.

On one of our adventures in the big apple,

we found the cutest street

which in it held the cutest boutique.

And yes, I bought this darling [and functional!] teapot.

Bring on the cold, Provo.

Summer Adventure: Central Park

I have this sister [for those of you who don't know]
and I also have this mother.
my sister has a husband.
he is really smart.
he had a summer internship in New York.
husband's company took him and the other interns to Florida.
wives weren't invited. [most interns don't have one anyways.]
so sister needed company while he was gone of course.
my brilliant mother decided: who better to keep sister company than us?
so, naturally, we flew across the country.
for an upcloseandpersonal tour of New York.

First Stop: Central Park

Central Park is magical. It's a reprieve from the concrete jungle, placed right in the heart of Manhattan.

Huge trees, fountains, birds, street performers, horse drawn carriages, and bicycles.

oh, and fun pictures and funnier antiqued signs

personally, I'm planning on hanging this one in my future home.

oh, and hi my  mom's a model.

Summer Adventure: Yosemite National Park

For our next adventure, Linds and I went to Yosemite National Park for a little hiking and/or nature observing. You know, Yosemite isn't all that terribly far from where I'm from, but you see....

1. i work 9-5 Monday-Friday

2. Sundays are a family day

3. Summer Saturdays are sort of a zoo around Yosemite.

so I just don't go as often as I should!

but having a visitor gives you an excuse to make time for it all. Thank goodness.

aaaaaand I wasn't kidding when I said haze and/or mist is a for-sure deal when I am in the presence of fabulous views.

Yosemite was not an exception.

but you can't take away all the grandeur from something like that.

also, we lucked out big time because the falls are still running

[like, rushing actually] and they should be trickling at this time of year!

we took the halfway hike at Glacier Point to Union Point [we didn't get an early enough start to do a huge hike]

but the view and the breeze were certainly something to behold.

as you can tell from above: Lindsay is a super-hiker.

my picture is a little blurry.... but it's like blurring out my blotchy redness...so it's quite alright.

 of course, this is what I really felt like after the hike. very sweaty.

and with a small sunburn patch on my right shoulder. 

only there.

nowhere else. 

isn't that the most wonderful phenomenon?

So aside from the spectacular views, there was also a huge amount of nature to observe on the way.

my favorite were the trees that were sprouting babies from their midsections!

[or twins, I suppose, call them what you will]

or maybe my favorite were the little red fungi? flowers? I don't know. 

but they stood out incredibly well among the fallen leaves and brown tree trunks

but please do not think the wonders of nature stopped there.
we were convinced we found the meadow from Twilight....

I think it's best we end it there.